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spookyserenades · 2 months

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Trouvaille - Chapter Fifteen (M)

Pairing(s); BTS OT7 x Reader

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

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

Word Count; 21.3k

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Updates on the 7th of each month

HI HI HI! Thank you all for your patience for this update while I was recovering from my cold! I'm excited to share this chapter, it's jam-packed with emotion, some uncomfortable confrontation, fluff, and of course, some more depraved smut LOL. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you again for everyone wishing me a speedy recovery and your unwavering support. (also pls excuse any typos fdskafdjf) Love from Dana 💜

As an additional warning/reminder, for the smut: the scene is explicit, and is only intended to be read by those over the age of 18. Please practice safe sex, and readers please have discretion!

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“I know you’re mad at me, but you know why I had to break that up, right?” Yoongi watched Y/N though slitted eyes as she poured a rather large glass of white wine for herself, scoffing.

Ignoring him, she took a swig of the chilled wine and turned on her heels, returning to the stove to stir the onion she was in the middle of sauteing. Even she could feel her irritation and anger coming off of herself in vicious waves, perhaps stirring the thyme into her mixture of onion, celery, and carrot with too much aggression.

“Y/N, come on. The silent treatment is really childish,” Yoongi’s deep voice had an edge of grit to it, Y/N snorting humorlessly.

The sounds of the leopard hybrid storming over to her side filled her ringing ears, and when he gently grasped her wrist to pry the wooden spoon from her grip, she spun around to face him, gritting her teeth when he turned off the stove.

“Childish? That’s rich,” Y/N eyed the way Yoongi’s spotted tail was flicking back and forth in agitation, hating having to argue with him at all. “You can’t just prevent me from talking to the others, Yoongi.”

A muscle pulsing in his jaw, Yoongi took a deep breath while pushing his hair out of his face, taking a better hold of Y/N’s hand and squeezing it once.

“I get why that’s how you probably see it, but that’s not what that was,” Yoongi replied evenly, appearing to exercise his unending patience.

“Okay, then explain! You know I’ve been trying to talk to Tae for days! Now he’ll probably never want to open up again,” Y/N had hysteria welling up in her, unable to decide if she was jealous of the way Yoongi always seemed to be so calm and collected.

“Yes, I know, sweetheart,” Yoongi’s jaw tensed again, thumb brushing over her wrist bone. “But not like that. He’s never been that drunk, at least since we’ve known him. I was trying to prevent him from doing something he might regret once sobering up.”

Y/N blinked, reading the sincerity on his face, her shoulders relaxing down a couple of inches.

“You know, the kid’s kind of grown on me in the last few months. I know that he’d be humiliated if things escalated further, that’s why I intervened. Besides, I didn’t want him to put you in a tight spot. I’m aware of how much you care about him,” Yoongi continued, the pinch between his brows loosening up when Y/N seemed to cool off.

“Sorry…” Y/N murmured, suddenly embarrassed that she was so quick to lose her temper on Yoongi.

“Nothing to apologize for. Just don’t clam up on me like that, and we’ll be good,” Yoongi softened, lifting her hand to his mouth to place a kiss on the back of it. “Let him sober up, sleep it off. Talk to him in the morning.”

Cheeks burning, she nodded, Yoongi letting go of her and swiping her wine glass, taking a sip with a purr. He took up the task of stirring the base ingredients of the tortellini soup Y/N was making for dinner, Y/N sighing and leaning up to stamp a kiss on his jaw, his still-damp hair tickling the tip of her nose.

“You’re right. I wouldn’t have wanted things to escalate like that… thank you, my angel,” Y/N hummed, reaching up to give one of his ears a scratch, his posture stiffening then dissolving into shivers as her fingers stroked through the short fur.

“You’re gonna take advantage of that weakness all the time from now on, aren’t you,” Yoongi’s voice was feathery, Y/N chuckling and mercifully releasing his ear. “Chop up that fennel, we’ll add it to the soup to bulk it up.”

Stealing her wineglass back, Y/N did just that, glad that her and Yoongi didn’t have to have an explosive argument over jealousy. However, as her knife sliced down into the bulb of fennel, her thoughts turned to Taehyung– reeking of booze, cornering her to a wall, unfamiliar flames in his eyes. She knew that the next morning, Taehyung would probably be avoidant and perhaps even embarrassed, and pinning him down to talk to him would be no easy feat. She had no doubt that the Kodiak hybrid wouldn’t be present for dinner, which heightened her concern– all that booze and no food didn’t add up to a hangover-less morning.

“I’ll bring him up some of this later, in a thermos. Don’t worry,” Yoongi once again read her mind, Y/N using the flat of her knife to slide the sliced fennel into the Dutch oven the leopard hybrid was standing over. “He’s definitely passed out, at the moment.”

Nodding, she gave Yoongi a pat on the back, getting to work on prepping some of the other ingredients for dinner. The silence was amicable, comfortable, so the sound of the slider door scraping open had her squeaking in surprise, nearly dropping the loaf of garlic bread she was putting into the oven.

“If you don’t get out of my face, fox, I’m going to take my Zippo to your running sneakers,” Jeongguk’s gruff voice bounced off the walls of the kitchen, brushing snowflakes off of the shoulders of his leather jacket.

“What? I just asked if you had feeling in your antlers,” Hoseok defended himself, a thin sheen of sweat coating his skin as he returned from his evening run. “You don’t have to be so accusatory all the time.”

Y/N stifled a laugh, looking over her shoulder to take a better glance at the spectacle, Jeongguk scoffing sharply as he hung his jacket on the coat rack by the door. Apparently, it had begun to snow outside, both his and Hoseok’s hair dusted with powdery clumps of it.

“And you don’t have to be such a nosy, irritating son of a bitch all the time, but sometimes we’re just created a certain way,” Jeongguk replied, Hoseok frowning as he caught a bottle of water Yoongi was tossing his way.

“Forget it, I’ll just Google it later,” Hoseok muttered, collapsing heavily into the breakfast nook, his ears drooping. “Cold as shit outside, by the way. Y/N, you’re sure we can’t move to Florida?”

“What’s with you and Florida, Foxy? Got a secret past there or something?” Yoongi inquired, wiping his hands on a dishtowel after bringing the soup to a simmer.

“Not particularly. It’s just warm and pretty there all the time. Didn’t you mention February can be even colder than January up here, Y/N?” Hoseok expertly dodged Yoongi’s line of questioning, redirecting his attention to Y/N.

“Sometimes. Judging by all the snow we’ve been getting lately, it’s looking that way,” Y/N admitted, still put off by the idea of living through Floridian summers. “I guess I’ll have to look into booking a trip to Disney a bit more seriously.”

“Ugh,” Jeongguk was disgusted, usually the one to turn his nose up at a Disney movie Seokjin or Hoseok would put on during movie night. “At least they sling excessive booze there, so I’ve heard.”

“Yeah, we can drink around the world in EPCOT,” Y/N put a finger to her lips, trying to calculate how much park tickets, souvenirs, a villa, and transport would run her– she shuddered at the figure she came up with roughly. To boot, the three hybrids in the room stared at her blankly, like she started spontaneously speaking French. “It’s a park in the resort. You know what, I’ll tell you all about it if I can scrape up the funds for a trip in the fall or whatever.”

The slider was pulled open again, this time bringing Jimin and Namjoon in from the cold, Jimin with only sock-clad feet, his muddied boots stowed beneath a covered section of the patio to prevent tracking mess into the house. Namjoon had a stack of thick books tucked under one of his arms, his denim-sherpa jacket damp with snow, nodding once at Y/N before heading off in the direction of his bedroom, likely to deposit the materials. Ever since she gave the wolf hybrid the information about their upcoming consultation, he had been burning the midnight oil tearing through all of the books he had in order to prepare himself.

“Hey, Jimin, how are the babies?” Y/N inquired about the animals, tuning out Jeongguk and Hoseok still bickering about his antlers, and whether or not they had feeling in them– secretly, Y/N was curious, too. “Oh shit– are you bleeding?”

Y/N dropped the knife she was using to shave parmesan slices for the soup with alarm, eyes bugging out of her head noticing the blood on his wrist. She flew over to him at lightning speed, hands outstretched to examine the damage. Jimin exhaled slowly, handing over his forearm, Y/N’s face settling into a deep frown.

“I’m alright, now, Y/N. It was just Bandit up to his old tricks when I went to give the chickens their supper,” Jimin’s voice had amusement coloring it, a half-smile on his face when Y/N dragged him to the island to dab a paper towel over the minor wound.

“That cocksucking rooster. We should just sell it,” Hoseok squawked from his spot on the breakfast bar, looking up from the noisy Tik Tok he was playing aloud. “I think it’s evil.”

Jimin rolled his eyes at the comment, one of his sandy ears twitching, before he placed his hand over Y/N’s tenderly.

“It’s just a nip. I’ll go disinfect it and come right back,” Jimin assured her, Y/N’s stubbornness coming to a head.

“Let me help,” Y/N tailed the coyote hybrid, reminded of the time he tended to her injury, and wanting to give a little bit back. “Bandit… appropriately named. Or perhaps Lucifer would have suited him better.”

Jimin snorted, letting Y/N grab a hold of the thick corduroy button-down he had over his tee shirt, dragging her down the hall and into his bedroom. The room, as always, had a sereneness to it. Dark blue colors, neat and tidy, and smelling like calming lavender and the crisp outdoors.

“Okay, sit,” Y/N took control, pushing Jimin onto his bed by his biceps, his tail slightly thumping against his mattress as determination set the shape of her mouth. Making haste for his bathroom, she was easily able to locate his basic first-aid kit, one she had in every en-suite in the house under the sink, dragging it out to the awaiting coyote hybrid.

Sitting beside him, Y/N held out her palm expectantly, Jimin placing his forearm into her grasp with a gentle sigh of resignation. Wincing at the torn skin, Y/N quickly loaded up a cotton square with alcohol, dabbing at the site gingerly. Jimin, to his credit, didn’t wince or flinch away, simply studying her actions with his lip tucked between his teeth.

“Sorry, it probably stings,” Y/N mumbled, reaching for the soothing ointment in the kit blindly, applying it on the bite.

“‘S alright,” Jimin shook his head, his hand curling into a fist before his digits relaxed, Y/N wondering if it was an attempt to get past the pain. “It’ll probably be healed up by the morning.”

Humming, Y/N smoothed a Hello Kitty bandaid over his skin, recalling how quickly hybrids recovered from injury.

“I’m sure something like that happened from time to time when you worked on the ranch,” Y/N mused, reluctant to let go of the coyote hybrid just yet.

“Yeah, perks of the job,” Jimin chuckled, making no move to peel himself away from her as well, Y/N feeling the brush of his tail against her lower back. “Thank you for patching me up. Beats my buddies telling me to rub dirt in it or threatening to kiss it better.”

Blinking at that tidbit of information, Y/N watched Jimin’s eyes go far away, a tiny smile on his full lips. Without thinking, and while he was distracted, Y/N ducked, pressing her puckered lips to the pink bandage. All she heard was a sharp, quiet, gasped intake of breath, Jimin’s strong forearm going limp in her palm as soon as she kissed him.

“A kiss is better than dirt, no?” Y/N straightened back up, finally letting his arm go and pushing that pesky strand of honey hair over his forehead back to join the rest of his slicked-back locks.

Jimin was stunned, effectively pulled out of his reminiscing, his butterscotch eyes wide as he stared down at her. In the distance, she heard Hoseok hollering about dinner being ready, Jimin’s downturned ears twitching, Y/N leaping from her spot and motioning for Jimin to follow. She was halfway through the door when Jimin replied, though she didn’t end up catching what he said.

“Much better.”

The next morning, a Sunday, would have typically been lazy and domestic. Usually, her and her hybrids went about their own business; watching movies, playing board games, and attending to their hobbies. However, that particular Sunday morning, Y/N had left Jimin in charge of making sure no one got into petty arguments, and was carefully ascending the stairs with a plate of hot, greasy breakfast food.

Much like Yoongi had predicted, Taehyung had not joined the rest of them for dinner, which nobody else saw as odd. Taehyung was still rather introverted and not so keen on befriending anyone besides Yoongi, and the others were of course happy to ignore him. The Kodiak hybrid hadn’t hauled himself downstairs for the Sunday morning fry up, and Y/N figured it was as good of a time as any to get their uncomfortable conversation out of the way.

Reaching his bedroom door, Y/N balanced the plate of food on her forearm, a large glass of water in her grip, and used her free hand to knock on his door as quietly as she could. She heard a gruff groan in response, Y/N rolling her eyes and making her way inside the room, shutting the door behind her.

The room was dark, all of the drapes pulled shut a little haphazardly, and Taehyung was slumped on his bed, his arm dangling over the side of the mattress and one of his cheeks squished on a pillow. His wild curly hair was matted and sticking up in several directions, and as Y/N held back a giggle when he moaned again, his eyebrows knit together and his nostrils flared.

“Morning,” Y/N whispered, placing the plate of food on his dresser, putting a lid over the fried eggs, mountain of toast, and breakfast sausages so they wouldn’t get cold. Though she uttered the greeting only above a breath, Taehyung groaned, pretty much planked on his front on top of his quilt. “Oh, honey…”

Fishing around in her pocket, she pulled out a packet of Advil tablets, crouching down in front of him and offering both the medication and the chilled glass of water, one of his carmine eyes cracking open slightly.

After a beat, Y/N watched the hybrid sluggishly turn onto his side, propped up on an elbow, his lips chapped as they parted slightly. Moving at glacial speed, Taehyung refused to meet Y/N’s eyes as he accepted both the pills and the glass, eagerly taking the medication and sucking down half the glass of water.

“Bit too much to drink last night, huh?” Y/N began, planting her ass on the ground and wrapping her arms around her knees. Taehyung’s throat bobbed as he swallowed the Advil capsules, Y/N following the movement with rapt interest. “I brought you some breakfast. It’ll soak up some of that gin. You should take it easy today, Tae, I can bring up my laptop and you can do a little photo editing in bed or something.”

Taehyung sat up more fully, although the movement was clunky and lacked the typical brawn and speed that he usually operated at. Clutching his forehead, one of Taehyung’s sharpened incisors bit down on his lower lip so harshly he drew a bead of blood to the surface of the flesh. Sighing, Y/N got to her knees, reaching up and back for the plate of food, placing it on his bed in front of him. The Kodiak hybrid’s complexion turned a touch green, a large hand slapping across his mouth and nose, and Y/N swore she heard a guttural gag from the back of his throat. She’d been there.

“I know the smell is probably making you nauseous, but you’ll feel better if you eat. I promise,” Y/N encouraged, Taehyung’s round ears pressed flat against his skull, an animalistic grumble vibrating his chest. “I… wanna talk to you, Tae.”

Appearing to catch him off guard as he poked at one of the fried eggs with his fork, Taehyung blinked at her, his expression blank. Y/N suspected, judging by the vacant expression, that he might have blacked out the previous night and couldn’t remember anything that happened; including but not limited to him pushing her against a wall and letting Yoongi spoon-feed him tortellini soup (or so her leopard hybrid had revealed to her over her morning coffee).

“Do you remember anything about last night?”

“No… No, I don’t,” Taehyung set his fork down promptly, unease turning down the corners of his mouth. “Did I do something wrong?”

Y/N shook her head immediately, though she knew that Yoongi– and the others, if they knew, would beg to differ. Unfortunately, the silent denial did nothing to make Taehyung’s alarm go away.

“You definitely drank way over your limit, but you didn’t do anything wrong. Nothing I’ve ever done that drunk, anyways,” Y/N picked at the fringe on his rug, mind going to the memory of drunkenly pushing Yoongi against a wall and demanding his phone number. “Actually, I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while. I haven’t managed to corner you until now.”

“What did I do?” Taehyung ignored her latter statement, stiffening when Y/N leaned forward, plucking up a piece of toast and raising it to his lips with a cocked eyebrow. If he didn’t get any food into his system, he’d feel like garbage the rest of the day, hybrid healing skills or not.

“You seemed angry with me. I came home, you were listening to some jazz on Youtube in the parlor, and you had finished about half a bottle of gin. With no chasers,” Y/N only began speaking when Taehyung reluctantly took a bite of the toast, chewing robotically and staring at his hands tangled in his lap. “I think you were trying to tell me something, but Yoongi interrupted before you could say anything… and then you ran up here.”

Taehyung was quiet, his dark eyebrows pulled together as Y/N fed him toast, apparently lost in thought. While disheveled and still dressed in his cargo pants and hoodie from yesterday, Taehyung was nothing short of effortlessly handsome, even if Y/N could smell gin on his breath.

“Angry with you?” Taehyung mumbled, tongue flicking out to catch some jam on the corner of his mouth. “I don’t remember. I’m sorry…”

“It’s alright, Tae. Keep eating,” Y/N encouraged, placing the fork back into his hand. “I don’t know if you’ve heard of this anecdote, but people often say that drunk words are sober thoughts. If there’s something on your mind, I want you to be able to talk to me about it. I care about you a lot, and miss having you around all the time. I don’t like… the distance.”

Y/N surprised herself by being so honest, stopping just short of spilling her guts and revealing her feelings for her elusive Kodiak hybrid. As she spoke, Taehyung made it about halfway through an egg before he pushed the plate away on top of his quilt, a frown on his face but the guarded look in his eyes softening exponentially. Looking down at her through his eyelashes, Taehyung heaved a great sigh, head tipping backwards and collapsing on his pillow.

“I’ve been acting immaturely, huh?” Taehyung breathed, his forearm draped over his eyes as he chuckled humorlessly, seemingly talking to himself more than anything else. “There’s no use in avoiding you, anyways. Stubborn and persistent.”

“So, you were purposefully avoiding me. Wanna tell me why? Does it have to do with… Yoongi and I?” Y/N probed, nearly whispering the last question. The corner of Taehyung’s mouth quirked up into a sardonic smirk. “Okay, I’m guessing that’s what it is.”

“I just,” Taehyung peeled his arm off of his face, sitting up and joining Y/N on the floor, pushing curls out of his eyes with annoyance. “Like Jimin. Wish you just told me.”

Y/N swallowed, looking down at her lap, shame filling her. Taehyung returned to his breakfast, munching on another piece of toast, leaning against his bed. She could hear him taking sniffs of the air delicately, probably smelling the emotions coming off of her, and Y/N couldn’t help but notice how he sat several inches away, rather than pressed up against her like normal.

“I’m sorry,” Y/N’s voice was scratchy, picking at the rug once more. “You’re right, I should have told you.”

“That night, when I told you about how I ended up here, you said you trusted me. I trust you,” Taehyung admitted, Y/N slouching so low in response, she felt like she was curling in on herself. “I meant what I said, and I know you did too. But I couldn’t understand why you felt like you needed to hide your feelings for Yoongi from me.”

Not wanting to cry in front of the hybrid, pride somehow welling up in her and mingling with her shame, she willed her lip to stop wobbling, peeking at Taehyung out of the corner of her eye. While difficult to hear, Y/N could tell it took a great deal of courage for Taehyung to confess that to her.

“I didn’t know how to bring it up to any of you. I felt like everyone was finally getting comfortable here, and I was worried about disturbing the peace. Of course, I managed to do that anyways,” Y/N stared out of one of Taehyung’s windows, keeping her vision on the horizon so tears wouldn’t spill down her cheeks. “I trust you, of course. It wasn’t about me not trusting you, but trying to protect everyone’s… peace, I suppose. Comfort.”

“You can’t protect us from everything, Y/N,” Taehyung told her softly, Y/N all too aware of that truth. “There are going to be times where shit gets rough or uncomfortable, but we’ve all been through tough situations before. We can handle the truth, even if you think we can’t.”

Y/N was stunned by Taehyung’s sage advice, even if he was scolding her slightly. Nodding, she swallowed thickly, Taehyung reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder heavily. The contact had her spine going rigid, as Taehyung hadn’t so much as glanced at her recently, let alone give her a friendly touch.

“Is he… treating you well?” Taehyung’s low voice was barely audible, even right in her ear. The question made her cheeks burn, heart racing. Whatever she was expecting him to say next, it wasn’t that.

“Um, yes, of course,” Y/N mumbled awkwardly, twiddling her thumbs. “He loves me, too.”

“I know,” Taehyung removed his hand from her shoulder, getting to his feet and beginning to rummage through his dresser. “He’s loved you from the start.”

Gawking at Taehyung, looking at him from head to toe while his back was turned, Y/N was at a loss for words. Taehyung spun on his heels, offering a broad palm to help her up, a change of clothes tucked under his other arm. With a shaky grip, she took it, trying to catch eye contact, but the Kodiak hybrid avoided it.

“Tae…” Y/N began, feeling like the conversation wasn’t quite over, and she refused to let go of his hand even when he tried to pull away. “We–”

“Thank you for breakfast, you were right, it made me feel better. I’m going to shower, though,” Taehyung cut her off, squeezing her hand tightly before releasing it. “I’ll come down after… I’ll quit hiding, so stop worrying about me, please.”

“Oh, Tae–!” Y/N wasn’t fast enough, Taehyung’s hybrid strength and speed apparently returning to him, and he disappeared into his bathroom with a click of a lock, leaving her reeling in his bedroom, her palm tingling from his touch still.

Absently, she collected Taehyung’s half-eaten breakfast, and when she heard the shower turn on, it prompted her to leave the room, wondering if anything was accomplished by that conversation, if he truly would stop avoiding her, and how he knew about Yoongi’s feelings for so long. Humming sadly, she set her destination to the kitchen, thoughts still occupied with the flash of hurt in Taehyung’s eyes.

“Are you sure you know how to drive this thing, wolf?” Jeongguk shouted from the booth in the back of the old van, Y/N cringing in the passenger seat beside Namjoon, who had very sharply turned onto a side street. “Judas priest, try not to hit the curb.”

“Be quiet,” Namjoon barked back, pushing the pair of glasses he was wearing up his nose bridge. Y/N had gotten him blue light glasses so he wouldn’t burn his retinas while he was crouched over her laptop researching for hours on end. “You can’t even drive in general, so can it.”

Giggling into her palm, Y/N admired her wolf hybrid while he glanced at the GPS on his phone. His silver hair was parted and swept back neatly, and was wearing Y/N’s favorite sweater he owned, a cream cable-knit scoop neck. She tried her best to not ogle him too much, but the sight of his strong, tanned hands wrapped around the steering wheel and perched on the gear shift had her slightly squirming in her seat.

“Are we almost there?” Jeongguk, in fact, did not shut up, the sound of his thumb flicking a lighter making Namjoon’s bitten ear twitch.

“Excited, sweets?” Y/N tossed over her shoulder, adjusting the hem of her plaid skirt, Jeongguk snorting, though Y/N caught him twirling a pen between his fingers and tapping his foot eagerly. Jeongguk had also gone out of his way to look nice that afternoon, opting for a loose charcoal button-down and normal dress pants rather than his usual casual gothic attire.

“Please,” Jeongguk muttered, his voice muffled by the cigarette pursed between his lips. Y/N felt her mouth water, the elk hybrid’s hair beginning to grow in a way that made him look like a 50’s style greaser, complete with the shiny gel. “The possibility of interacting with paranoid humans all afternoon isn’t exactly enthralling.”

Rolling her eyes, Y/N focused back on the road in front of her, not taking Jeongguk seriously at all. Jeongguk talked a big game, and certainly appeared intimidating with his glare, tattoos, and piercings, but deep down he was just as passionate about his interest in the paranormal as Namjoon was.

“You guys will get your first paycheck by the end of the week, isn’t that awesome? I mean, if we can wrap up the investigation and cleansing by then,” Y/N changed the subject, rolling her window down (manually, with a crank) to filter out Jeongguk’s cigarette smoke, Namjoon grumbling about the frigid temperature.

“Are you sure it’s legal for us to get paid?” Jeongguk asked incredulously.

“Uh, good question,” Y/N admitted, watching Namjoon’s hands tense around the steering wheel. “One for Ben.”

“Says we’ll be there in three minutes,” Namjoon pointed to the GPS, Y/N leaning forward in her seat to get a good look at the suburban street they were driving down.

It was just an average looking neighborhood in Newton, about twenty minutes from their own home, the houses sleepy Victorians and sidewalks studded with ancient trees. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, even when Namjoon parked his van outside of a little blue house shrouded by great oak trees.

“Is this it?” Y/N leaned across her armrest to check out the front of the building, squeaking out an apology when Namjoon jerked in his seat from the proximity, her cheek smacking into his chest. “Shit, sorry Joonie.”

“No, it’s the post office. Why else would he park here?” Jeongguk flicked the back of her head, Y/N flinching when one of his icy silver rings made her scalp smart. “Let’s go, we’re late.”

Muttering, Y/N massaged the back of her head, hearing the elk hybrid rummage around behind her for his bag, Namjoon unfastening his seatbelt with an apologetic grimace. Ever since she had scolded the wolf hybrid for speeding, he began going under the speed limits. The man was never really one for gray areas, moving from one extreme to another.

Pulling her coat closer around her body, Y/N jumped out of the old van, clutching her notebook to her chest and expelling a deep breath. While Namjoon locked up, she tucked the dangling wires to his Walkman deeper into his bookbag, snorting softly at the excited twitch to his tail.

Once in front of the door to the home, Y/N rang the doorbell, feeling the delicious heat of her two hybrids behind her like a solid wall. She hadn’t been that excited for an event in a while, even though it involved the unknown and people in trouble– the chance to spend one-on-one time with Namjoon and Jeongguk had her bouncing on her toes while she waited for the door to open.

Moments later, the heavy door creaked open, a thin, short woman appearing in the darkened threshold, a screen storm door separating her from the three lingering on her porch. The woman took in the sight in front of her with darting eyes, which had purplish circles beneath them, her hair a bit unkempt and hands shaking as she placed one of them on the handle to the storm door.

“Are you… Y/N?” The woman asked, her voice small, scratchy, and weary.

“Yes, are you Ms. Sanders? I work for Judy, I’m taking over her home consultations. She sent me all of the information you gave her about the situation in your home,” Y/N hoped that the woman would invite them in soon, the wind was biting and she could sense Jeongguk’s impatience without having to look at him.

“Please, come in,” Ms. Sanders– Erika, Y/N remembered her first name from the packet– pushed the remaining barrier between the outside and the apparently haunted house aside, Y/N promptly stepped into the house once the woman moved. “Also, please excuse the mess. I haven’t had much time to, um, clean up, lately.”

Namjoon shut the door behind him once everyone was inside, Y/N sneaking a peek at him sniffing the air with a thoughtful expression, Jeongguk looking awkward and unconfident, for once. Contrary to what Erika said about the state of her home, things seemed tidy, eerily so, and in the small den that they were led to, nothing seemed out of place, just lonely.

“I’d like to introduce you to my two hybrids, they’re here to help, as well. This is Namjoon, he’s very knowledgeable about all things paranormal, actually, all things in general,” Y/N gestured to her wolf hybrid, who exuded the confidence that Jeongguk seemed to be lacking. “And this is Jeongguk. He’s worked with a paranormal investigative group and has years of experience. Both of them successfully helped me rid my own home of an entity.”

“Y-yes, Judy mentioned that she’d be sending a team here for me,” Erika eyed the two hybrids standing behind Y/N like bodyguards, Y/N comforted by both of their contrasting scents in an unfamiliar place; floral honey and leathery smoke. “Make yourself comfortable. Can I get anyone anything to drink?”

Y/N shook her head, the two hybrids following suit, sitting on her either side on the lumpy sofa in the living room. Y/N had to admit, there was a hair-raising, peculiar feel to the energy in the home, one that set her teeth on edge. Definitely different from the way it felt in her own house, Y/N could tell Jeongguk could sense it too, his dark eyes narrowed as he scanned the room.

“So, Ms. Sanders–”

“Please, just Erika is fine,” she sat on the sofa across from Y/N and her two hybrids, her frame sagging tiredly. The woman watched Namjoon methodically place his Walkman onto the coffee table, feeding a blank tape into the device. “Should I get the kids?”

“Actually, we were thinking that getting your explanation of what’s been going on first would be best. That way we can compare each family member’s experience to one another,” Y/N held her hands up, Erika halting her movements to rise from her seat, definitely a little bit jittery.

“Would it be okay to tape the interviews so I can review them later?” Namjoon addressed the young mother suddenly, his fingertip hovering over the record button and ears forward and alert.

“I’d let you film and broadcast on national television if it gave you an edge over whatever has been tormenting my family,” Erika insisted, Namjoon raising a brow but pressing down on the record button anyways, angling the device closer to the woman so the microphone would better pick up her voice. “So, where should I start?”

“How about when you first noticed things were becoming out of the ordinary. Nothing is too insignificant, so speak freely,” Y/N encouraged, Jeongguk leaning backwards on the couch beside her, ankle over knee, his journal opened up to a fresh page.

“Well, we moved here a little over a year ago. From Colorado. I separated from my husband and the kids and I needed somewhere safe to stay, far away… he’s an alcoholic, you see. My family is from Massachusetts, so I wanted to be near my folks god forbid my ex ever tried to come and find us…” Erika’s eyes became glazed over, Y/N trying not to react to her hybrids shifting and coiling in alert when a thump-thump-thump came from a wall behind the young mother, who apparently didn’t notice or was all too used to the sound. “Everything was normal, at first. The first six months here were perfect, idyllic, even.”

“When did that start to change?” Jeongguk spoke up for the first time, the tip of his pen tapping his lower lip. Erika glanced at Jeongguk, pulled from her reverie, and her expression became sharpened as if icy water was dumped over her head.

“It happened gradually. My son, Thomas, is non-verbal, but he started having nightmares eight months ago. He’d come into my room and climb into my bed, shaking. While he’s non-verbal, he’s always been quite independent and brave, so this struck me as odd– especially when the nightmares became a nightly thing. Unfortunately, I don’t know what his nightmares are about, because he’s refused to even write anything down about them, but I know they terrify him. That was the first instance of strange events, and he still has them almost every night.”

Y/N nodded, the sounds of Jeongguk hastily scribbling his notes down on the linen page of his notebook, and the crackling of the Walkman, filling the sad silence of the home. Y/N was reminded of her own nightmares that came with the haunting she experienced; the creature that chased her in her sleep, and the fear that crept down the notches of her spine had Namjoon scooching an inch closer to her subconsciously.

“After that, my Jules… She's always been a sort of flower child. But ever so slowly, that bubbliness has gone away, she’s been more introverted, edgy. I thought maybe it was just because she’s entering her teenage years, but she’s made some new friends at school. Ones that I’m not sure have the best influence on her.”

“How do you mean?” Y/N furrowed her eyebrows, wondering if there was some kind of entity Namjoon had learned about that was summoned when one makes shitty friends.

“They’re older than her, and whenever she hangs out with that group of kids, she’s out all hours of the night, ignoring her curfew,” Erika sighed, tearing her eyes from Jeongguk and shaking her head. “I’m not usually like this, I mean, my brother was goth growing up, so I’m more than used to the culture. But these kids are bad news, I know it. They’re less about music, politics, and fashion and more about teenage riot. Property destruction, drinking on the train tracks. Jules was never like that, so her sudden change in personality concerned me.”

“So, your daughter made a couple of friends who turned out to be punks, and her whole personality changed?” Jeongguk confirmed, though his usual condescending tone was absent. In fact, Y/N was very impressed by how much the elk hybrid reined in his attitude.

“I know what that sounds like, like I simply don’t care for her friends. But the more she hangs out with them, the darker her personality becomes,” Erika’s voice went rather quiet, now refusing to look towards Jeongguk at all.

“Sometimes, what ends up happening in a haunting involving children, particularly young teens, their moods are influenced heavily by whatever has attached itself to the teen’s home or even the teen themselves. There’s a chance that your daughter acting out, especially in a way that you disapprove of to provoke a reaction, is not due to her new friends, but instead, it’s something above her control entirely.”

Namjoon’s insight had Y/N blinking in surprise. Instantly, she felt a little sheepish about that shock, as she knew he had been doing extra research for the past several days– not to mention his lifetime of knowledge he was already sitting on– but it was impressive to hear him relay information like that. Y/N recalled how Seokjin had mentioned Namjoon was different in group settings outside of the home, more vocal. Perhaps that’s what her wolf hybrid was like at the book club, take-charge and confident. Y/N thought that Jeongguk would be more like that, but she was equally surprised by the elk hybrid’s quiet observations.

“So, you think the… ghost, or whatever, is what’s causing Jules to behave so differently?” Erika chewed on her lip, the thump-thump-thump sound returning, this time overhead, Y/N trying her best not to react. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jeongguk jot something down urgently. “I mean, she won’t even talk to me. I don’t even know if she’d be willing to talk to you.”

With that, Jeongguk sat forward, unbuttoning his shirt cuffs and rolling the fabric up over his forearms. Raising an eyebrow at him, Jeongguk’s eyes flickered playfully in her direction, sticking his pen behind his ear.

“Is there any chance Julie’s friends look like me?” Jeongguk drawled, again, without any judgment, miraculously. Erika appeared embarrassed, nodding slightly.

“I–I mean, without antlers, of course b-but I didn’t mean to insinuate–”

“It’s alright, Ms. Sanders,” Jeongguk held up his tattooed hand indifferently, rising to his feet. “Julie might be more willing to open up to someone who shares a similar… aesthetic. The wolf, here, is too granola-crunchy, and Y/N certainly has more questions for you.”

Namjoon growled lightly beside Y/N, staring at the elk hybrid resentfully. To her wolf hybrid’s dismay, she was once again agreeing with Jeongguk.

“You think she’d be…? I mean, if you can get anything from her, please, try. I just want to know if she’s, um, as scared as we are. Her brother and I. If she’s seen things like us,” Erika, too, stood, her movements wobbly and frail. “I can show you to her room, ask if she’s up to meeting you. She knows that I’m having this consultation, anyways.”

“Ms. Sanders, Y/N and I are going to take a quick walk around the property while you and Jeongguk speak with Julie. When you return, I’d like to ask you about specific instances of activity,” Namjoon hooked a large hand around Y/N’s elbow, manhandling her to a stance, pausing the tape recording. Without even glancing his way, Jeongguk caught the Walkman Namjoon sent hurtling towards his head, the two of them having an unspoken plan already, apparently.

The young mother nodded, ushering Jeongguk up the narrow staircase to the second level of the home, Y/N spluttering as Namjoon dragged her outside, his grip strong as always, but tender and steadying. Heart racing, she grit her teeth at the nasty wind chill that greeted them once they were on the lawn, and naturally, Y/N clung as close as she could to Namjoon’s side without him growing uncomfortable.

“Why are we–?” Y/N began, Namjoon leading her to his van, letting go of her elbow once he yanked open the passenger seat, rummaging through his disorganized glovebox. “Joon.”

“Hold on, Y/N,” Namjoon mumbled, barely noticing that she was stuck to his back like a jetpack to shield from the bitter cold, teeth beginning to chatter. “I have an idea.”

Finally, he turned, his burnt honey eyes the only whisper of warmth amongst the gray of the sky, holding an array of objects in his arms; what appeared to be two, long, L-shaped pipes, a spool of red fabric ribbon, and a couple of packets, by the looks of it.

“Whatcha got there?” Y/N snorted, loving how much Namjoon was getting into the whole situation.

“Here,” Namjoon ignored her question, shifting everything but the little packets into one arm, taking one of her wrists, and aggressively shaking the pouches with a concentrated expression.

In the palm of her gloved hand, Namjoon placed a hand warmer in the center of it, promptly manipulating her wrist into the pocket of her coat, and repeating the same process with the other hand. Stunned, she stared at her wolf hybrid and registered the out-of-character action like she was a third party looking on, and Y/N wondered if the pink hue of his human ears blossomed because of the wind or bashfulness.

“Have you ever heard of dowsing rods, or people using them during paranormal investigations?” Namjoon asked after clearing his throat, turning again to lock up his van and break eye contact.

“Um, vaguely. I might have seen them use them on Ghost Adventures,” Y/N managed to choke back, the hand warmers keeping her fingertips toasty in her pockets. “Is that what those poles are?”

“Yeah. I figured we could just take a quick walk around the house with these, and we can mark areas that show any sort of reaction with the ribbon tied around a tree. While I handle the rods, you can try and read the energy beside me,” Namjoon motioned for her to follow him back up the driveway, thoughtfully reading her skeptical reaction. “I know you’ve been working on your energy readings lately, Y/N. You can do it, I believe in you.”

It was Y/N’s turn to be bashful upon hearing those words from her wolf hybrid. Namjoon’s approval was something that was hard-won, so the encouragement and praise had her floating straight up into the clouds. With those words, she thought she could probably scale a mountain if he was by her side.

Without hesitation, she trailed after Namjoon, curiously watching him shift the metal rods in his hands, and when they reached the side of the house where a large window looked into the living room, the wolf hybrid paused. Shivering, Y/N felt unease well up in her gut, the sensation of one thousand ancient eyes on her causing her skin to crawl. There was definitely something there, lingering around that window, perhaps in the brush, and judging by the movements of the rods in Namjoon’s hands and the frown on his face, he was coming to the same conclusion.

Saying nothing, Y/N simply sticking close to Namjoon as they made a slow circle around the yard, she concentrated on opening herself up to the energies of the backyard as much as she could, without risking attachment or harm. Namjoon was right, her practice was paying off, because she was starting to get a better sense of the types of entities that were lingering in the yard alone.

“Okay, get anything?” Namjoon asked, once they had landed back to the side of the building they first began canvassing, using his sharp teeth to tear a strip of red ribbon from the spool he was holding. “This window here seems to be the hotspot, but the house feels like it’s almost shrouded in something…”

“I think we’re dealing with more than one entity here,” Y/N admitted quietly, while Namjoon tied a knot around a little sapling under the window. “I felt a few different energies. Only one, in this particular spot, made me uncomfortable. Like I’m being watched. The others felt more organic, human.”

“And that’s just out here,” Namjoon added, but it sounded like he was talking mostly to himself. “Come on, let’s head back in. Jeongguk is done talking to the girl already.”

Absently, Namjoon reached backwards, one of his hands still adjusting the ribbon on the sapling, his fingers wiggling as he searched for Y/N’s grip. Mouth dropping open, she automatically slid her gloved hand into his, listening to his chest rumble as the residual heat from the hand warmers melted into his chilled skin. Never one to deny Namjoon his rare moments of actively seeking out any sort of affection, Y/N soaked in the moment as best she could.

“You still have that list of questions to ask?” Namjoon held her hand tightly as she walked up the ice-slick concrete steps into the house, so she wouldn’t slip.

“Uh-huh. We’ll probably be able to wrap up the consultation afterwards, schedule the investigation. With the energy I’ve felt so far, I think it’s best we get in here as soon as we can to clear it out.”

Back inside, Namjoon let her go, and the first thing Y/N registered was the teenage girl that was now sitting in the living room, beside Jeongguk, her hands tangled in her lap. Exchanging a sideways glance with Namjoon, she hurried into the room, taking a seat next to Erika and her son, Thomas, who had also chosen to join the consultation. Y/N noticed that the young boy was holding onto a plastic toy robot tightly, like someone was going to take it away from him.

“Tommy, this is Y/N, she’s going to help us,” Erika smoothed a hand down her son’s back, the kid blinking at Y/N in acknowledgement, similar dark circles under his eyes that mirrored his mother’s. Her heart broke, in consequence. “That’s the wolf hybrid I was telling you about, too, honey. Namjoon is his name. Tommy loves wolves.”

Tommy, indeed, was staring at Namjoon with stars in his eyes, squirming in his seat, Erika affording all of them a tender smile for the first time Y/N and her two hybrids had stepped foot into the home. Namjoon, embarrassed, sat on Jeongguk’s free side, offering Tommy a little wave, one of his sharp incisors biting down on his plush lower lip.

“Alright, kiddo, she’s probably got a few questions for you. She’s cool,” Jeongguk set Namjoon’s Walkman back onto the coffee table, Y/N’s eyebrows shooting into her hairline as the elk hybrid used the nickname he usually saved for her on the teenager that only seemed to be at ease because of the burly hybrid beside her.

Getting a good look at Julie, Y/N felt herself take a step backwards in time, the girl looking quite a bit like she did as a teenager; dark eyeliner, graphic band tee, chipped nail polish and holes in the knees of her skinny jeans. Julie regarded Y/N carefully, only after shooting a doubtful look at Jeongguk, then a resentful one at her mother, the girl’s dark eyes narrowing a tad.

“She’s how you described her,” was all Julie said, the corner of her mouth curling up in amusement as Y/N tried not to clench her fists– leave it to Jeongguk to offer up a sarcastic caricature.

“Hey, Julie, nice to meet you,” Y/N ignored Jeongguk’s smug, shit-eating grin, clearly pleased with himself that he was able to get Julie to be comfortable around them. “I do have a few more questions before we go ahead and plan the investigation. Which, when the three of us do conduct the investigation, you and your family will be safe and sound staying at a nearby hotel.”

“You’re not planning on instigating angry spirits, like those quacks on TV, are you?” Julie crossed her arms across her chest with a scowl, several brightly colored rubber bracelets around her wrists. Namjoon was busying himself with straightening out spare blank tapes on the table– he was always a little bit awkward around children.

“No way. That’s all Hollywood, anyways,” Y/N resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at Jeongguk, who was biting down on his fist to prevent laughing, which Y/N found both unprofessional and annoying as a gnat in her ear. “We just want to help get rid of whatever is bothering you. I’m sure Jeongguk told you a little bit about what was hanging around our house a few months ago… we were able to banish it permanently. I, and I’m positive my teammates as well, have no interest in provoking spirits for any kind of viral recognition.”

Y/N tasted the word “teammates” on her tongue like a saccharine hard candy, after all, it was the first time she was using it in reference to the sort of operation she had created with Namjoon and Jeongguk. Neither of them seemed to notice the significance, but both of them sobered with her words, nodding in agreement. Jokes aside, the situation was serious, and helping the family was top priority– thirst for knowledge and experience aside. Julie seemed to relax in response to Y/N’s promise, and without further ado, Y/N waited for Namjoon to start up the tape again, and she launched into her list of questions.

“Has the spirit ever shown itself physically to any of you?”

On the way back home from the Sanders’ residence, Y/N felt her frame sagging into the worn leather seat beside Namjoon, the tense of the house energy dissolving the further Namjoon drove from the address. She was ready for a hot bath and some mindless television, having more than enough of the paranormal for one day. A bit loopy, Y/N focused on the air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror, the shape of it a cartoon flying saucer.

“So the mother has seen a shadow in the hall at night, usually when she gets off from work. Then we had the kid point at the window, which Y/N mentioned feeling like an entity watches the family from there–”

“Jeongguk, you can take notes silently,” Namjoon sighed, probably sensing how exhausted Y/N was, even over the folk tape he was playing quietly and Y/N’s attempts to stay awake by pinching her thigh periodically.

“Fuck off,” Jeongguk muttered, but lapsed into silence anyways. Y/N stole a look at him over her shoulder, and he was lazily propped up on his side in the booth, a pen cap sticking out of his mouth while he scanned his notes.

Namjoon had cleaned up the van in preparation for their journey to the Sanders’, stacking his books neatly and moving most of them up to the loft where the mattress was, considering it was not being used. He even brought in a few blankets and pillows to make things a little more comfortable, one of the throws currently over her lap. Y/N, as well, added her own touch to the van– upon the wolf hybrid’s insistence– and taped little battery-operated fairy lights around the ceiling of the vehicle. In the short few days the three of them made the van ready for longer trips, Y/N had grown quite fond of spending time in there, and her and Hoseok had coined it the “mystery van”.

“Joonie?” Y/N spoke suddenly, her voice definitely weary but catching the wolf hybrid’s attention nonetheless, his ears perking up cutely even with his eyes still trained on the road.

“Mmm?” Namjoon pushed his glasses up his nose again, turning down the radio.

“How did you get this van?” Y/N dared to ask. She hadn’t done much prying into Namjoon’s past, heeding the advice in her wolf hybrid guidebook to let him present information when he’s ready, but since he had softened up so much, she figured asking wouldn’t do too much harm.

“It was given to me,” Namjoon replied cryptically, though Y/N was pleased enough that he actually answered her to not pout about how little that was revealed. “Shortly before you adopted me. In Wyoming.”

“Did you teach yourself how to drive?” Y/N figured she might as well go along with it if Namjoon was okay with that line of questioning, and didn’t seem peeved she was being curious.

“No, someone taught me,” Namjoon’s lips were twisted up in amusement, casting a brief look in her direction. “Some things can’t be learned from books.”

“Ah, I see,” Y/N didn’t want to push her luck, wiggling further into her seat to get comfortable. She had about one thousand follow-up questions, but she had all the time in the world to get answers from Namjoon.

“I lived alone most of my life, in the woods, abandoned cabins. I never liked to stay in one place, mostly because I avoided running into humans… I came across this van deep in Yellowstone park one night in the spring a few years back, the awning was out, and an old woman was sitting in a lawn chair in front of a campfire. I’m not sure how she managed to spot me, but she did,” Namjoon shocked Y/N by actually launching into a story, her mouth agape and even Jeongguk’s furious notetaking had ceased. “I hadn’t had a real meal in… well, ever. She offered me some dinner. At that point in my life, I didn’t trust humans as far as I could throw them. But I could smell her sincerity.”

Y/N had no idea what to say in response. An innocent question turned into a whole lot of background on her wolf hybrid, and she didn’t know whether to begin recording him or stay statue-still.

“Her name was Joan. Most of the stuff in here is hers, she had quite an interest in UFOs and ‘mythical’ creatures. Over the next few weeks, I’d check in on her… she was quite old, and by herself, and I suppose having access to real food was tempting to me as well. I’d listen to her prattle on about things she’s seen in the woods, I’d share things that I had experienced in the wilderness over the years,” Namjoon continued, turning the windshield wipers on when a flurry of snow began to fall. “After a few weeks, I trusted her enough to take her up on the driving lessons, joining her on her trips to town for provisions. I didn’t live with her, but I’d spend time there every few days.”

“Did you steal an old lady’s camper van?” Jeongguk exclaimed from the backseat, a throaty growl coming from Namjoon in consequence.

“No, you asshole. There were a couple of weeks where I’d go to the van, but she wasn’t there. It was confusing, like she had just vanished, but I wasn’t so attached to her that I was overly concerned. While she was old, she was still a decent hiker. I guessed she had just taken a tent and gone for a little trip,” Namjoon turned off the highway, taking the ramp that would bring them back into their town.

“I was wrong. The last time I went to check on her, the van door was open, but there was someone else inside. Thinking it was an intruder, I took a look inside, but I recognized the younger woman from pictures Joan had, it was her daughter. Her daughter told me that Joan had checked herself into the hospital following up on her heart condition, but it was too late. She died within three days of being in the hospital, heart failure,” Namjoon frowned, ears flattening to his skull. “The daughter said Joan mentioned me. Wanted me to have the van. The daughter had no use for it, anyways… She was just collecting some photos. She said I could have it, gave me the keys, and I never saw her again. It was convenient, so I just started living in here.”

Ears ringing, Y/N couldn’t believe how much she had gotten from Namjoon with just a few questions, and she felt somewhat guilty that she hadn’t tried to get closer to him in that way, blindly following advice from a stupid guidebook. That aside, her heart swelled a few sizes; if Namjoon felt comfortable enough to share all of that with her and Jeongguk, he had really come a long way since his initial adoption.

“I’m sorry about Joan,” was the first thing Y/N could think of as any sort of coherent reply, putting her hand over Namjoon’s that was resting on the gear shift and squeezing. “She must have liked you quite a bit to leave you this van.”

“I suppose,” Namjoon agreed, letting Y/N keep her hand on top of his, navigating his way through the town square. “She probably just preferred someone keeping all of her stuff safe after she died.”

“What made you want to come all the way to New England?” Jeongguk’s voice was suddenly right beside Y/N’s ear, making her flinch and push his shoulder. He was squatting between her and Namjoon, staring out the windshield with boredom, and a piece of gelled hair sticking to his forehead. The elk hybrid ignored Y/N’s pleas to sit down for safety, much to her chagrin.

“History,” Namjoon shrugged, shutting off the GPS once the familiar streets of their suburb were in view. “I wanted to see what a city was like. New York City seemed too big, and Boston is certainly historical. Plus, I had never seen the ocean before.”

“Weren’t you originally from Los Angeles, Jeongguk?” Y/N changed the subject, emotions welling up in her. As time went on, it was clearer and clearer to her that she and her seven hybrids, by some cosmic intervention, were destined to be together, considering they had come from all over the country at the same time.

“Yeah. Shithole,” Jeongguk rolled his eyes, using a wrist to smack a fresh pack of cigarettes against. Before she could ask him what he meant, Namjoon pulled into the driveway, the sky turning lavender as the sun disappeared over the bare willow trees. “I’m starving. Want a drink.”

Jeongguk straightened up, snatched his notebook from the booth he left it on, and with a flick of his lighter, was jumping out of the van and into the snow.

“Guess he had enough of us,” Namjoon remarked, unfastening his seatbelt and stretching his arms upwards, his shoulders popping with the movement. Snorting, Y/N shook out her stiff legs, folding the blanket over her lap and gathering her tote bag.

“He’s bratty when he’s hungry,” Y/N smirked, waiting for the wolf hybrid to lock up the van before heading to the house. “Maybe I should order pizza tonight, unless Yoongi made something already.”

Namjoon sniffed the air, shaking his head.

“No, nothing’s cooking. Just the fire in the living room is going,” Namjoon matched his stride with Y/N, his tapes and Walkman tucked under his arm. “Order pizza, I can tell you’re tired. The energy work must have taken a bit out of you.”

Preening under Namjoon’s observation, she stared at the snow-dusted grass, feeling closer to him than ever.

“Yeah, I think I’m going to take a bath before dinner. Put some cleansing herbs and salt in the water just to make sure nothing from the Sanders’ house is clinging to me,” Y/N watched Namjoon unlock the front door with the house key he kept in his pocket, her own hands reaching up to dust snow collecting on his shoulders.

“Good idea,” Namjoon let Y/N into the house first, Y/N sighing at the cozy heat and ambient lighting. “Thanks, by the way.”

“Huh?” Y/N spun on her heel, gawking at the wolf hybrid, who was blushing.

“For including us in these investigations,” Namjoon said simply, a faint dimple appearing on his cheek.

“Oh,” Y/N blinked, pausing in front of Namjoon’s bedroom door. “I don’t think I would, or could do it without you two.”

Namjoon’s ears were a vibrant shade of red by now, and with that final comment, he ducked his head, mumbling something about reviewing the tapes before dinner. She let him disappear into his bedroom, and in a sort of daze, Y/N found her way to her own room, opening up her notes app to find the pizza order document with a grin.

February had finally rolled around, and as Hoseok and Y/N both dreaded, it was colder than January. At the very least, the sun was staying up later and later, to her relief, but there had never been so much snow in recent years. She was up to her ears in shoveling the walkways, scraping ice off of the cars, and making sure there was plenty of salt and gravel on the well-walked areas of her yard. That particular afternoon, the first Tuesday of the month, Alice happened to have a day off from the newspaper, and offered to swing by for a bit to catch up.

“Where is everyone?” Alice accepted a hot chocolate from Y/N, sitting in the breakfast nook, glancing at the noticeably hybrid-free kitchen.

“Taehyung officially got his driver’s license recently, he took himself, Yoongi and Hoseok up to the rec center to sign up for the spring activities. Jimin’s out with the horses, Jeongguk and Namjoon I think are in the van researching some equipment we need to order for the investigation in a couple of weeks,” Y/N slid into the booth beside her friend, blowing the steam from her own hot chocolate. “Seokjin got roped into joining Hoseok. He pretty much got dragged out of here.”

“So what you’re saying is, no one will hear us if we talk shit?” Alice grinned, Y/N already knowing what direction the conversation was going to take before Alice said another word. “Spill. You have a glow, so things must have worked out with Yoongi.”

“Between him and I? Yeah,” Y/N grew a bit shy, even if Alice knew pretty much everything about her already. Except for the fact that she had fallen for all of the hybrids, not just Yoongi, and that fact was something she was ready to share with her best friend once and for all. “Some of the others? Not so much.”

“Oh no. Tell me,” Alice scooched closer to Y/N, her arm slung around her shoulders comfortingly.

“Basically, the rest of them caught Yoongi and I in the kitchen in a… compromising position, and that’s how they found out about us,” Y/N grimaced, Alice gasping.

“No way. You weren’t fucking in here–”

“Christ almighty Jesus! No,” Y/N squawked, blood pooling in her cheeks. “We were just kissing. I’m not that much of an adrenaline junkie!”

“Okay, I was gonna say, Y/N. Way to go,” Alice snorted, taking a merry sip of her hot chocolate. “So I’m guessing a handful of them weren’t stoked about walking in on that.”

“Actually, the ones I thought were going to be weird about it were totally fine,” Y/N chewed her lip thoughtfully, aware that Alice wasn’t too familiar with the nuances of each hybrid’s personality. “Jimin and Taehyung were really disappointed that I felt I couldn’t confide in them. Jimin has forgiven me, but Taehyung still seems a little off, even if he insists he’s cool with it. He asked me recently if Yoongi was ‘treating me well’.”

“Damn. He sounds jealous,” Alice leaned back with a wag of her eyebrows. “What I know about hybrids, especially the types you’ve adopted, they can get hella territorial. Maybe it's his instincts screaming at him to protect you.”

“Could be,” Y/N muttered, her cheeks getting even hotter at the thought. “Then there’s Seokjin. He hasn’t addressed it at all, it’s like he’s pretending it’s not even happening. He used to be the clingiest, but now it’s rare he’ll initiate any kind of physical contact at all.”

“Again, babe. Sounds like jealousy. I remember Seokjin, he stuck to you like a starfish and looked at you like you hung the moon. He’s probably in denial,” Alice frowned, watching Y/N’s expression become stormy. “What’s wrong? You have that look on your face like you’ve left something out.”

“Alice, it’s not just Yoongi I’ve fallen in love with,” Y/N rubbed her temples, deciding to just bite the bullet already. “It’s all of them.”

There was a beat of solemn silence, and Y/N could almost smell the wheels in her best friend’s head turning. Alice tightened her hold around Y/N’s shoulders, the smell of her caramel perfume wrapping her up in a deeper hug.

“I had a feeling,” Alice admitted quietly, squeezing Y/N once again. “That’s why you feel guilty that those three are keeping their distance.”

“Mm-hmm,” Y/N felt the hot chocolate go sour in her stomach, though she should have known that Alice had caught on by now. Y/N wasn’t exactly subtle with her heart-eyes around the boys, even with others present. “I talked to Ben about it. I know it’s high school for me to say, but I’m so uncomfortable with the idea of confessing to any of them myself. The possibility of rejection is scary, of course, but seeing how much the boat was rocked when they found out about Yoongi and I…”

“I don’t have to tell you this, babe, but this isn’t something you can run from forever. I think all you can do is take it one step at a time… if you were to sit everyone down at once and admit your feelings to the six of them in one breath, I have a suspicion not a lot of them will take that confession seriously,” Alice mused slowly, Y/N already holding the same opinion. The last thing she wanted was to lump every confession into one sort of sit-down conference, for some reason, the potential scenario came off as cheap and rushed, to her.

“I just. I don’t even know who to start with. Maybe one of the boys that aren’t avoiding me like the plague,” Y/N said miserably.

“You know, there’s a chance one of them may come to you,” Alice encouraged, wanting to cheer up her friend. “You never know. Yoongi felt the same, maybe a few of the others have feelings for you, too.”

Perking up a little bit, Y/N let herself believe that for a few moments, imagining how nice it would be to be past all of the drama and confrontation, and simply living in love and harmony with all of her boys– like a storybook. Unfortunately, Y/N existed in reality and not between the pages of a children’s book, and she shook away the vision dancing around in her head quickly.

“I suppose we’ll see… Yoongi and I are still navigating how we act around the others, anyways. It’s a little tricky,” Y/N changed the subject slightly, knowing that Alice would be interested in some of the spicier things that had been going on in her life, rather than the tangled and complicated.

“I’m sure. If my man was half as sexy as your Yoongi, you’d need a crowbar to pry me off of him at any given moment,” Alice deadpanned, Y/N choking on a sip of her drink, Alice’s throaty laugh filling the empty kitchen. “How does that work, by the way? I mean, with hybrid hearing… have you guys even…?”

“Uh… yeah, we have,” Y/N shrunk down in her seat, embarrassed. “The music room is soundproof.”

“Y/N, you naughty girl! Wait, so like. Is that going to become like the Red Room like in 50 Shades? Like, you’re only going to fuck in there?” Alice, true to herself, brought some humor into the situation, Y/N giggling despite herself.

“I mean, no, I don’t think so,” Y/N managed through laughter, relieved to have some time with her friend and talk about such things. “As hot as it was… I mean we’re probably going to end up sleeping together in a bed at some point. I think it’s futile to pretend we’re not going to be intimate, the others aren’t stupid. I suppose I’ll just have to keep my sound level in check.”

“Okay, so clearly he doesn’t suck in bed, if that’s your response,” Alice teased, poking Y/N in the cheek. “Lucky lady. You do deserve it though, after all those years of The Great Dry Spell.”

“He’s perfect,” was all Y/N responded with, trying not to let her eyes glaze over with the memories of their tryst in the music room. “God. I’m sweating. Let’s talk about something else before I start chewing on the table.”

“I have an idea,” Alice straightened up after several moments of the girls laughing at Y/N’s fluster, taking up one of Y/N’s hands with mischief in her eyes. “Before you shoot it down, think about A) how fun it would be, and B), the potential amazing rewards.”

Making a motion for her to spit it out, Y/N braced herself for something ridiculous.

“You’d do this in small doses, of course– the fact that some of them seem to be jealous is evident. Why not tease them a little? Give Yoongi a kiss here and there in front of them, bat your eyelashes… I’m not saying be a menace with the PDA, but I think well timed PDA might coax one of them into slipping. I know you, if you had more of an idea that one of them had romantic feelings for you, you’d feel better about confessing. Just a thought.”

Y/N mulled that over while draining the rest of her mug, furrowing her eyebrows. That was the exact kind of scheme her, Alice, and Laura would pull when they were teenagers with their high school crushes, and usually, it worked like a charm. Now, however, Y/N felt a little funny about it.

“I don’t know… wouldn’t that be manipulative? Wouldn’t I be using Yoongi?”

“Y/N. Do you seriously think your leopard male hybrid who is in love with you would be upset that you kiss him in front of others? Hello? They’re all about possession. You’re not manipulating, either. Just think of it as a gentle kick in the ass for the others to sort out how they feel,” Alice rolled her eyes, Y/N regretfully realizing her friend was right.

“I’ll think about it. If it blows up in my face, though–”

“If it blows up in your face, I’ll take responsibility. It won’t though,” Alice collected the empty mugs, standing from the breakfast nook. “Alright, babe. We need to catch up on some Below Deck, and I want some dirty details about your man.”

Snorting, Y/N nodded, ready to have a couple of hours to gossip and watch trash reality with a girlfriend. She felt lighter, truly, that she told Alice how she felt about all of the hybrids, and was grateful that Alice not only offered her advice from a different point of view, but made her smile, too. As Alice dragged her to the parlor, Y/N wondered who she was in her past life to not only deserve her boys, but her friends, as well.

“Come on, Y/N, try it!” Hoseok attempted to grab Y/N by the ankle, his russet tail wagging happily as he teasingly pressed the ‘on’ button to his Hypervolt. “You’re being a wuss.”

“Hoseok. I have tried it. Last time you pressed that against the back of my neck without me knowing, I thought I was having a stroke,” Y/N was able to wrestle her ankle free from her fox hybrid’s grip, her ass sore from sitting on the rough surface of the rec center’s indoor track. “I’m not the one about to run a mile. Focus on your own calves.”

“Oh, please, just a couple of seconds,” Hoseok was too quick for her to evade his grabby hands for long, his strong, nimble hands clasping around her ankle again with a cheeky grin.

“Ho-seok,” Y/N groaned as soon as the vibrating tool dug into the meat of her calf, and regretfully, she was eating her words– after a few days of being on her feet at work, the sensation was delicious. “F-focus, honey. It’s the first meet of the season.”

“Yeah, so? You’re the only one who came. Even Jinnie abandoned me, reading his stupid books,” Hoseok ignored her plea to focus on his warm-up stretches, moving the Hypervolt further up her calf, Y/N praying she wouldn’t melt into a puddle of moans and groans at the sensation.

“They’re r-reading a Murakami book this w-week. Hoseok, stop!” Y/N weakly pushed his hands away, pouting at him. “It’s like almost 1,000 pages. He wasn’t doing it to spite you.”

“He could have read it here!” Hoseok countered, though obediently put his Hypervolt back into his gym bag and began to stretch out his quads in front of her. “Whatever. I’m only doing one event tonight, we'll be outta here in like an hour or so.”

“What do you want for dinner? We’ll pick up something on the way home,” Y/N pulled Hoseok’s number from his gym bag, shifting forward on her knees so she could pin it to his jersey tank.

“Chinese. I want a bucket of fried rice,” Hoseok replied without hesitation, Y/N making sure his mahogany waves were suitably held back by the sweatband around his forehead.

“That can be arranged,” Y/N agreed, squeaking in surprise when one of the announcers reminded the mile runners that they had ten minutes before they had to be at the starting line, Hoseok perking up. “Couple of questions for you?”

“Darling?” Hoseok cocked his head, nose twitching in her direction.

“Your birthday is this month. What would you like to do, my social butterfly? Wanna throw a party, or go somewhere specific? A club, a bar?”

Any trace of sly humor disappeared from Hoseok’s face in a flash, astonishment replacing it, before he ever-so-elegantly recovered, a neutral expression taking over.

“That’s a lot to think about. It’s still a little ways away, can I think about it?” Hoseok responded carefully, his hands coming up to rub his lean biceps.

“Think about it as long as you need. Unless you actually want to go to a club, I’ll have to book that ASAP,” Y/N leaned back on her palms, praying that his event would go by quickly so her ass wouldn’t be scraped up any further by sitting on the rough concrete. “Gift ideas, too. You like clothes, but you have a bunch of those already… we could go to a sports game? Or we could go to a music festival, I know you’ve been interested in that. There’s one next month here in Boston, I heard The Foo Fighters are headlining one of the days.”

“Y/N, that’s a lot to give a guy to think about before he has to perform athletically,” Hoseok whined, but Y/N could see embarrassment plain as day in his mocha eyes. “I’ll let you know, alright? Whatever you do for my birthday will be more than enough, though, without a doubt.”

Mouth open to reply, Y/N was cut off by a whistle blowing, Hoseok nimbly hopping to his feet, his cheeky, gorgeous grin back in place. He looked like a young god in his uniform, full of life and vigor, one that governed over the sun and daylight. Before she could speak, Hoseok used his hybrid swiftness to bend forward, pressing a light kiss to Y/N’s forehead at lightning speed.

“Wish me luck, my darling! Order some egg rolls for Jinnie while you’re at it, too, alright?” Hoseok winked, whistled his trademark, and jogged off towards the starting line, leaving Y/N wooden and staring after him.

Of course, Hoseok ended up winning– he had a streak, at that point, and was considered the star of the team, especially for his particular event. It was a shame, truly, that the rest of her hybrids didn’t want to be there to support the fox hybrid– but Y/N supposed with the near-weekly meets, it interfered with their own interests and hobbies. Besides, Y/N never missed a track meet, a basketball game, or a photography expo. Hell, if there were oral reports during her mother’s book club, she’d be there an hour in advance to hear whatever Seokjin and Namjoon had to say about a book she had never read.

The next day, Wednesday, Y/N was beat from work, after Judy had her totally rearrange the store’s inventory for the spring. There was enough leftover Chinese food for her and the hybrids to pick at for dinner over a marathon of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and by the time she dragged herself to bed, her eyes were nearly crossed. The only thing that prevented her from drooling into her pillow immediately was the sound of her phone chiming on her nightstand, Y/N grumbling and blindly reaching for it, tapping on the text notification.

Yoongi 👼🏻: can’t sleep : (

Y/N: sorry, angel 😭 something wrong? Need some tea?

Yoongi 👼🏻: no, just u

Yoongi 👼🏻: come up, stay with me?

Suddenly wide awake, Y/N sat up in bed like she was electrocuted, her heart hammering in her chest. Bunching her quilt up in her fists, she was torn– there was nothing she wanted more than to sleep with Yoongi, but she dreaded the thought of sneaking out of his room in the morning and stumbling into Seokjin, Taehyung, or Jeongguk on the second floor.

“Fuck it. We’re going with Alice’s plan,” Y/N muttered to herself, and as if on autopilot, she made her way to the second floor miraculously without turning on any lights.

Yoongi’s door was ajar, and it appeared that he was the only one still awake, lamplight only coming from his room, fortunately. Promptly, she slipped inside, chest rumbling in satisfaction when Yoongi’s scent filled her senses powerfully.

“That was fast for a little human,” Yoongi emerged from his bathroom, Y/N trying not to drool out of the side of her mouth with his bare chest on display. His sweats were slung low on his narrow hips, spotted tail curled around one of his legs, and Y/N suddenly felt exposed in her own tank-and-shorts pajama set.

“Do you want me to stay or not,” Y/N hissed, hands on her hips. Yoongi rolled his eyes, tongue poking into his cheek. The leopard hybrid shuffled over to his bed, dramatically collapsing onto it, his arms behind his head with a smirk. “Are you trying to smize your way out of a smartass remark?”

Y/N swallowed, her throat completely parched, dragging her eyes over his strong arms; the veins mapping his forearms, the pink tint to his bent elbows, the dark hair of his armpits. Briefly, Y/N internally cursed Yoongi for making her so whipped for him, she was attracted to armpits.

“Is it working? Smells like it is,” Yoongi lifted a brow, tongue swiping over his lower lip and a free hand reaching up to fiddle with the silver chain around his neck. “Come here.”

“Yoongi. We’re just sleeping. You have a game tomorrow,” Y/N warned, though she lowered her knees to his mattress, crawling up the length of if so she could lay beside him. “Don’t seduce me.”

“Speak for yourself,” Yoongi accused, his eyes darkening as he watched her climb to his side. “Miss you.”

Y/N hummed, rolling onto her side, sticking her face into Yoongi’s neck, breathing in his cologne. Automatically, Yoongi began to purr, using one of his hands to grasp onto Y/N’s thigh, hooking it over his body. Her skin tingled where he touched her, especially when he began to trace shapes over her thigh, just below the hem of her shorts.

“Miss you too,” Y/N mumbled into his neck, planting a gentle kiss on the tender skin, Yoongi shivering beneath her. Already, her eyes felt heavy, tangled up with her lover, his soothing purrs like a sweet lullaby. “Turn off the light. Early morning.”

Grunting, Yoongi yanked on the chain to his lamp, plunging the room into darkness, Y/N sighing happily when he pulled his quilt up over the two of them. Y/N rested her palm over Yoongi’s heart, the steady beats of it beneath her touch comforting.

“Love you, baby,” Y/N whispered into the darkness, Yoongi’s tail wrapping around her waist, and she could tell he was already slipping into unconsciousness by the way he murmured the same sentiment back, slurred and heavy.

The next morning, Y/N pretty much had to push Yoongi off of her, his body on top of hers, cheek squished against her chest, his twitching ears tickling under her chin. He groaned and complained when she rubbed his back to wake him, and Y/N fought the urge to simply fall back asleep with him on top of her.

“Come on, you big kitty, gotta have some breakfast before the game,” Y/N wheezed as she managed to roll him onto his side, his long hair sticking up in the back. His eyes were still shut as he stumbled out of bed, making Y/N snort into her palm. Usually, Yoongi was one of the first hybrids up in the morning, but Y/N had never seen him before his first cup of coffee. “I’ll make something for you while you get ready.”

Yoongi frowned, not wanting to part with her yet, but she left his room with a grin as he shrugged on his jersey with a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. No one else appeared to be up yet, all of the bedroom doors on the second floor still shut, so Y/N was able to tip-toe down the creaky staircase without a confrontation.

After a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, Y/N was writing a brief note to tell the others where her and Yoongi were that morning, they were off to the rec center, Y/N letting Yoongi drive there. The weather was cold and damp, but at least there wasn’t any snow coming down from the sky on their drive in, but Y/N barely felt the chill with Yoongi’s hand on her knee while he drove.

It wasn’t her first time in the rec center’s indoor gym, the floors buffed to a blinding shine and wooden bleachers surrounding the court, but because it was a new season, she felt like it was a different place. Once Y/N tied up Yoongi’s hair and pressed a kiss to his cheek, he was off to warm up with his teammates, and Y/N found a spot on the bleachers to watch the game. One eye on her leopard hybrid, she fumbled for her phone, which was buzzing away in her pocket. It was a notification of a reminder– in three days time, Valentine’s day, was the cooking class with Seokjin. Smiling a bit wistfully, she screenshotted the reminder, sending it to Seokjin over text.

Y/N: excited for our class!!

Seokjinnie 🌸: me too ≽^•⩊•^≼

Y/N: cute emoji omg! Is that supposed to be u?

Seokjinnie 🌸: ᡣ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶𐭩 ♡

Y/N flinched when Yoongi’s coach blew her whistle aggressively, promptly setting down her phone and getting ready to watch Yoongi play. He dropped into total concentration, listening to his coach with his lip tucked between his teeth, before getting into position and watching the coaches to a coin flip. She was getting lost in checking him out when she was rudely interrupted by someone saying his name– several feet from beside her.

“Number 54? Yeah, his name is Yoongi,” a high-pitched, girlish voice declared to her friend, and Y/N knew that she was gawking at them, but she wanted to know how she knew her leopard hybrid’s name. “Isn’t he hot?”

Y/N grit her teeth, realizing the two girls were actually hybrids, dressed in tennis skirts and both with canine sets of ears. Y/N recognized the uniforms they were wearing, belonging to the rec center’s tennis team, which means it was likely that they had seen Yoongi around before. Instantly, jealousy bloomed in her gut, and she had to tear her eyes from the two of them, fidgeting in her seat. She was pretty sure neither of the girls had noticed her staring at them, but she didn’t want to get caught, so she chose to discreetly eavesdrop instead.

“He’s super hot. Like a rockstar or something,” the second girl, the one with darker hair, agreed. “I heard he’s like the best player on the team.”

“For sure, that’s what Trixie said. She used to watch the basketball team practices last season just to see him play.”

Now, Y/N was absolutely positive she was filling the gym with the acrid scent of jealousy, but if the girls noticed, neither of them even looked in her direction. Y/N wasn’t stupid or blind, she knew how gorgeous and talented Yoongi was, but it was never fun to hear others fawn over one’s boyfriend. Gripping the bleachers tightly, Y/N tuned the hybrid girls out, focusing on Yoongi, who had already stolen possession of the ball.

Luckily, the game became a nail-biter, enough to distract her from the girls beside her. Y/N’s throat was hoarse from hollering Yoongi’s name, and she managed to get a pretty decent video of him scoring– by the end of the game, Y/N could barely speak, but Yoongi’s team had won. Before she could launch herself onto the court to give him a hug, he was pulled away by his teammates, who were thumping him on his back and pushing him towards the locker room. This made Y/N pout, but she knew that Yoongi would want to take a shower before they hit the road, so she busied herself on the phone, ignoring the giggles of the two hybrids beside her.

Hoseok 🦊: heads up, darling

Hoseok 🦊: we’re all heading out, taking the car. Errands to run!

Y/N: errands???

Hoseok 🦊: ye, ghostbusters need some equipment. Jinnie wanted to make something for dinner so gotta go to the store. The bear needs to pick up his photos while we’re there, and we’re dragging Jimin along so he can spend time with beings that AREN’T horses

Y/N: okay, thanks for letting me know foxy

Y/N: have fun, be safe, and think about plans for your birthday, pls!

Hoseok 🦊: i’ll make a list :3

“Ready to go?” Yoongi approached her, his hair damp and his gym bag slung over his shoulder, his footsteps echoing in the near-empty room. When he was in front of her, a smirk on his face, the two girl hybrids stopped whispering, and Y/N knew that they were checking him out, and she didn’t like that one bit.

Pocketing her phone, she recalled her earlier jealousy, and apparently catching him off-guard, Y/N launched forward, jumping up into his arms with an oof coming from the back of his throat. Wrapping her legs around his waist, Y/N held him tightly, hiding her face in his neck.

“Whoa, I didn’t win the NBA finals,” Yoongi chuckled, using one arm around her lower back to keep her supported, his chest vibrating with purrs. “Sweetheart–”

She cut him off, cupping his face urgently, descending her lips on his in a powerful kiss. He made a feline noise of surprise, his mouth parting, and Y/N took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, trying to inject every ounce of passion she had into it. After a split second, Yoongi recovered, kissing her back, his arm tightening its hold on her. Not wanting to draw it out too much, her jealousy melting into sheepishness, she broke away with one last peck to his lower lip, Yoongi’s eyes full of surprise and delight.

“What was that for?” Yoongi asked, breathlessly, Y/N giggling like a schoolgirl as he lowered her back to the ground.

“What? I can’t kiss my man?” Y/N replied, parroting his sarcastic remark he had once made in front of Taehyung. Yoongi blinked, stunned out of a response, Y/N tucking a lock of hair behind his ear before tangling one of her hands with his. “Let’s go home, angel.”

Y/N didn’t even look at the two girls that were gaping at the pair of them, but she knew that they were so caught off guard, they forgot to “congratulate number 54 when he comes out of the locker room”. Smugly, she left the gym with Yoongi on her arm, and she realized once they got to the car: Yoongi didn’t even notice those two girls, his attention had been on her completely.

“Where’s the other car?” Yoongi frowned, pulling into the driveway carefully, never once letting go of Y/N’s hand.

“Hoseok took it out with everyone to run some errands. On the bright side, I don’t think either of us will have to cook dinner, Seokjin wants to make something tonight,” Y/N hopped out of the car, suddenly struck by the fact that the two of them were alone, which had her pulse speeding up.

“Ah. Giving us space,” Yoongi read her mind, chuckling. She stuck her tongue out at him while his back was turned, dragging his gym bag out of the backseat, and ditched him in the driveway to unlock the front door.

Y/N headed straight for the kitchen for a glass of water, lamenting the fact that it was still too early for a glass of wine. Bouncing around in her skull were not only images of Yoongi jogging up and down the court, commanding the respect and admiration of his teammates, but the sounds of the two hybrid girls gushing over him. Embarrassingly, Y/N felt her jealousy return, hardly noticing Yoongi in the foyer as she stomped up the stairs, scooping up his gym bag as she went. She thought perhaps doing something as mundane and mind-numbing as a load of laundry would help her get a grip.

Grumbling, she tossed Yoongi’s sweaty uniform into the wash along with Hoseok’s, adding a few more articles of the boy’s clothes from the mountain of dirty laundry in the corner of the little room. Eyes glazed over as she tossed laundry beads into the machine, she stared at the little chart taped to the wall, the one that she and Seokjin had created so laundry duty was tackled by a different housemate every day.

“What’s the matter?” Yoongi startled her in the doorway to the laundry room, making her whack a knee against the dryer with a cry.

“Nothing,” Y/N composed an innocent expression on her face, folding a pair of Jimin’s jeans and stacking them on the shelf.

“Y/N,” Yoongi’s voice had a warning tone to it, Y/N cursing the hybrid ability to sniff out deceit. “You were fine just a second ago.”

“Why don’t you just take a whiff and guess,” Y/N grouched, Yoongi’s hazel eyes flashing. Without another word, Yoongi was pulling Y/N out of the laundry room with a tsk and a finger hooked in the pocket of her leggings.

“Fine,” Yoongi growled, pushing her against the wall in the hallway, pressing a knee between her legs and keeping her pinned with a hand flat on her hip. His face was in the crook of her neck, Y/N growing stiff as she felt his eyelashes brush her skin. “Ticked off. Insecure.”

Heart falling to her ass, Y/N squirmed against the wall, trying to get away from the leopard hybrid, humiliated beyond belief. Served her right for challenging a predatory male hybrid, in hindsight.

“Oh. Jealous,” Yoongi froze, drawing away from her throat, staring Y/N dead in the eye. “Why are you jealous, baby?”

Swallowing, Y/N shook her head, desperate to deny the accusation, but it was too late. She couldn’t weasel her way out of that situation, not with him pinning her down. Heart pounding in her chest, she shook her head.

“It’s nothing, Yoongi. Just forget it, I’m being stupid,” Y/N attempted to diffuse the situation, furious with herself that she had potentially spoiled the rare alone time that the two of them had.

“Is this about those girls sitting next to you at the game?” Yoongi asked incredulously, Y/N’s eyes widening a fraction. “Uh-huh. That’s a yes.”

“It’s dumb, but I can’t help it,” Y/N broke down with a whine, already feeling pitiful enough. “They were talking about how hot you are and how you’re the best player… ugh, it just triggered me I guess, you’re mine and I–”

Her words were stuffed back down her throat, because Yoongi’s mouth was on hers, hot and desperate, the force of the kiss causing her head to bump into the wall behind her. The hand that was on her hip moved, a forefinger and thumb pinching her chin to keep her in place, Yoongi already licking into her mouth with borderline abandon. Wide eyes slipping shut, Y/N released a ragged moan, her hands scrabbling to get a grip on his hoodie. Cocking his head, Yoongi bit down harshly on her lower lip, pressing his hips into Y/N’s before breaking away, his chest heaving.

“How could you think,” Yoongi began, interrupting himself by giving her another swift kiss, his eyes lidded. “That I’d even look at anyone but you?”

Y/N couldn’t respond; she was too distracted by Yoongi’s hand under her shirt, tracking a path up her abdomen, and his plush lips suckling the skin under her jaw. Gasping, she let go of his hoodie, hands pressing to the wall behind her, heat flooding through her system.

“If anyone should be jealous, it’s the other poor fucks who live with us,” Yoongi added roughly, bending to get a hold of her thighs, hoisting Y/N up into his arms, using his sharp incisors to nip at her collarbone. “They haven’t heard the noises you can make, haven’t tasted you…”

Y/N felt her head spinning as Yoongi carried her down the hallway, fisting a chunk of his long, inky hair tightly, the sound of Yoongi kicking his bedroom door open making her go limp in his arms.

Y/N yelped when Yoongi let her go, all but tossing her onto his bed, standing before her like a predator stalking its prey. In a wild turn of events, they both became possessed by lust, Y/N already feeling her core throb against the material of her underwear. Yoongi had a filthy mouth, she was already aware of that, but when he used it against her– she swore nothing was sexier.

“Don’t you know how I feel about you?” Yoongi rid himself of his hoodie, tossing it carelessly to the floor, swinging a knee over the mattress to cage Y/N beneath him. Y/N could only stare up at her beautiful leopard hybrid, his ears twitching with agitation, his silver chain dangling in front of her face. “Hmm? Love?”

“Y-yoongi,” Y/N breathed, overwhelmed. She reached up for him, hooking her hands around his neck, reveling in the quiet groan he made when she brought him down for a kiss, this one sweeter, more full of meaning, than the desperate lip-lock in the hallway.

“There’s my girl,” Yoongi murmured between kisses, probably smelling the love and affection she had for him rolling off of her in waves. Seizing the moment while he was lax above her, Y/N’s hands shot out, landing on his chest, sending the leopard hybrid sideways and onto his back, Y/N straddling his lap with a doped-up grin. “Fuck.”

Snickering, Y/N squirmed on his lap, watching his eyes roll back into his skull, his hands still on her outer thighs. Y/N couldn’t believe that she was as turned on as she was, trailing her fingertips over the smooth skin of Yoongi’s flushed chest, and further, she felt satisfaction fill her with the hardness she felt beneath her hips. Yoongi’s breath caught as one of her thumbs brushed over a nipple, his pupils dilating with pure want. Unable to help herself, she ducked down, mouthing at his chest, and experimentally, she grazed her lips over his nipple, Yoongi’s hips bucking up into hers with the action.

“Baby,” Yoongi’s voice came out strained, his hands squeezing her thighs painfully, one of them moving to tug on the back of her shirt, Y/N busy kissing a trail down his sternum.

“Yoongi,” Y/N returned, tracing the lines of his toned obliques, teeth scraping against his left pec.

Getting the hint once Yoongi yanked at her shirt once more, his other hand bruising the skin of her thigh, Y/N sat up, crossing her arms and pulling the material off of her torso, tossing it aside. She wasn’t exactly expecting to be in that position with Yoongi that afternoon, so regretfully, she was wearing a simple black bra, but Yoongi appreciated it with widened eyes nonetheless.

“Kiss me,” Yoongi requested, breathlessly, his hands trailing from her thighs to her bare waist, eyes nearly emerald with how much they had darkened. Not daring to disobey, Y/N fell forward, whimpering at the sensation of their torsos pressed together, cupping his jaw and giving him the kiss he asked for.

Not knowing where Yoongi ended and she began, she felt their legs tangling, Yoongi’s rough, jean-clad hips scraping against the soft material of her leggings, which were truthfully starting to become a little damp. Yoongi kissed the breath from her lungs, his tongue sensually rolling against hers, his purring chest pressed right up against hers.

“God, I–” Yoongi ground out, his form tensing beneath her when Y/N traced her tongue up the side of his neck, the taste of his sweat sweet on her tongue. “Fuck. Fuckin’ love you.”

“Love you more,” Y/N countered, directly in his ear, nipping at the shell of it, shuddering when his hands slid up her back, fingertips wiggling beneath the strap of her bra. With that statement, Yoongi grunted sharply, and before Y/N’s brain could process it, the world turned upside-down, the wind knocked from her lungs as she found herself underneath Yoongi again.

“None of that,” Yoongi smirked at her bewilderment, using a large hand to press over her mouth, his free hand ghosting over the center of her chest. A primal sort of glint took over his feline eyes, Y/N automatically opening her mouth to respond. Unfortunately, Yoongi was a step ahead of her. “Uh-uh.”

Y/N’s lips were pried open, two of Yoongi’s long, slender fingers pressing against her tongue. Two could play at that game, Y/N thought, her tongue swirling around the digits, hollowing out her cheeks. Frowning, Yoongi watched her expression grow coy, her legs wrapping around his waist.

“Smart mouth, should keep it filled,” Yoongi muttered acidically, pressing the pads of his fingertips more harshly into Y/N’s tongue, a tiny gagging sound coming from the back of her throat, making the tips of her ears burn. “Let’s get this off, huh, sweetheart?”

Unable to respond with his fingers stuffed in her mouth, Y/N watched helplessly as Yoongi slid a hand behind her back, unclasping her bra and pulling it off with a dark chuckle. One day, Y/N would learn not to provoke a hybrid, but honestly, the consequences didn’t seem to be so bad.

Finally pulling his saliva-slickened fingers from her mouth, Yoongi helped Y/N out of her bra, absently pushing the garment to the side so he could get a good look at her chest, a hand resting over her throat, feeling her pulse flutter erratically. Desperately, she was trying to pull him back down to her mouth with tugs to his belt loops, but Yoongi ignored her silent plea, both hands cupping her chest. Y/N arched into his touch with a soft cry, bringing his face down to kiss between her breasts, and in retaliation for earlier, used the rough pads of his thumbs to outline circles over her nipples.

“Hnngh,” Y/N winced, so sensitive his gentle touch was almost painful, Yoongi humming as he toyed with her chest, kneading the soft flesh in his hands, pinching one of her buds between his fingertips and pulling, rewarded by a heavy moan from Y/N. “Oh, b-babyy–”

Growing frustrated with the remaining barriers between himself and Y/N, Yoongi’s touch migrated to the waistband of Y/N’s leggings, using his strength to strip the article of clothing from her body, nearly passing out once he realized she wasn’t wearing panties beneath, her entire body bare beneath him.

“What are you doing to me,” Yoongi groaned, his jeans starting to choke the life out of his cock, and not in a good way. “Shit…”

“Need… n-need you,” was all Y/N could hiccup, completely exposed for him, but not feeling a single semblance of embarrassment about that. Tail curling behind him in mesmerizing shapes, Y/N gripped at his solid biceps pleafully.

“Needy thing,” Yoongi commented, sloppily kissing over the swell of her breast, enjoying the sounds of her helpless mewls. “God, I can smell you.”

Clumsily, Y/N tugged the zipper of Yoongi’s jeans down, yanking the fabric halfway down his legs, her breath coming out in pants as Yoongi laved his tongue over her nipple indulgently, hardly noticing she was trying to strip him. Gasping when he took the bud into his mouth, sucking and scraping his teeth over the sensitive flesh, Y/N felt her thighs get tacky with moisture, impossibly turned on and wanting.

“Please, Yoongi, please. Fuck me,” Y/N wasn’t above begging at that point, far past the point of no return, Yoongi distractedly shucking off his jeans and slotting himself between Y/N’s parted legs. The weight of his hips against her bare core had her clenching around nothing, and she arched upwards to seek out the hardness in his boxers eagerly for any kind of friction.

Yoongi simply hummed at her request, releasing her nipple with a lewd pop, one of his hands tracing over her hip bone before he mercifully ghosted his digits over her dewy sex, a low hiss coming from the back of his throat when he realized how wet she was.

“Always so fuckin’ wet,” Yoongi teased, batting her hand away when she reached for his wrist, a drenched forefinger swiping through her folds. “All for me?”

“Uh-huh,” Y/N canted her hips upwards, chasing his touch, whining thinly when he just missed grazing her clit. “Please. Want you, want you inside of m-me.”

“Wanna taste you first,” Yoongi smirked devilishly, Y/N beginning to protest, just wanting to feel him, but he moved too quickly, and all Y/N could do was sink her hands into his long tresses, his face now eye-level with her cunt. “All of this, and I’ve hardly done anything.”

Too caught up at staring at his fucked-out expression, Y/N didn’t have time to feel embarrassed, Yoongi using his strong grip to maneuver her legs over his shoulders, making himself comfortable between her legs. Whether or not he noticed that her thighs were coated in her slick was beyond Y/N, and due to the position he had manhandled her into, she couldn’t close her legs to hide the evidence of her overwhelming arousal.

Transfixed, Yoongi’s touch returned to her pussy, biting his lip when more wetness leaked out of her when his thumb brushed over her clit. She was so sensitive, responsive, tiny cries of pure want filling his ears, and it drove him absolutely crazy, paired with the scent of her lust. Wasting no more time, he locked eyes, her pupils blown out, eyebrows pinched, and kissed right above the hood of her clit, chuckling when her hips jerked in consequence. With a deft lick, Yoongi dragged his tongue through her folds, feeling Y/N’s legs shaking over his shoulders, a wail leaving her throat.

Y/N couldn’t help her spine from contorting off the mattress, yanking on Yoongi’s hair sharply, a muffled grunt coming from his lips as he wrapped them around her clit, humming lightly and making Y/N see stars. It was almost too much to bear, Yoongi’s sinful tongue dipping into her entrance, his forearm keeping her hips pinned down. Alarmingly, Y/N felt herself already hurtling towards her release, Yoongi’s mouth on her paired with the unbroken eye contact had her stomach tightening quickly.

“Yoongi,” Y/N whined, pressing herself into his face desperately, cheeks on fire when he raised an eyebrow, using the flat of his tongue to collect all of the wetness that had gathered between her legs, the erotic visual making her eyes roll shut. “Ah!”

Yoongi paused, assessing the mess he made of her, using a free hand to stroke through her folds, Y/N begging for more, for anything, and Yoongi didn’t want to tease her too much, so with one last breathy please, Yoongi sunk a finger into her cunt. Cursing at the tightness, he curled his finger, attempting to open her up a little bit, a second digit joining the first, Y/N writhing in his grip.

“Squeezin’ me, baby, are you gonna cum already?” Yoongi taunted, feeling her clamp down onto his fingers even tighter, her lip bitten raw as she cried out his name. “That’s it, honey.”

“Yoongi, want you,” Y/N managed to gasp, gripping the wrist that was between her legs, halting his movements. “Please, now, want you.”

“Yeah? Want me to fuck you?” Yoongi asked softly, pulling his fingers from her cunt, sliding the coated digits into his mouth, his free hand moving to the hemline of his boxers, Y/N’s eyes immediately dropping to the bulge beneath the fabric, her mouth watering. “Turn over.”

Blinking, Y/N shakily scooched up the bed, rolling onto her front, hearing Yoongi shuffle forward on his knees, his boxers tossed on the floor, Y/N turning her head slightly to get a good look at him, his sharp teeth prodding at his fleshy lower lip. Sighing blissfully when his hands caressed her hips gently, she squealed when he dragged them up, using his other hand to reach for a pillow, placing it underneath her, arranging her limbs so she was resting comfortably. Cheeks burning, she felt the pillow beneath her hips and lower abdomen, her ass on display as she arched her spine, leaning on her forearms.

“Look at you, waiting so patiently,” Yoongi’s touch returned, his palms landing heavily on her ass, making her shudder and keen, opening her mouth to tell him to hurry up. Before she could, however, Yoongi spoke again. “Ready, baby?”

“Please,” Y/N wiggled her hips, hoping to tempt him into picking up the pace, feeling sweat slip down her spine. She sounded wrecked, eager, and Yoongi groaned, holding the base of his cock in one hand, the other squeezing one of her cheeks.

Shaky breath rounding out into a moan, she felt him press against her weeping sex, running the tip through her folds teasingly, his own breaths coming out in labored pants, slowly losing control as he ground against her. Gripping Yoongi’s sheets for dear life, she huffed in annoyance at his teasing, feeling wetness dribble down the inside of her thighs in anticipation. After what felt like minutes, Yoongi stopped messing around, lining himself up, using a palm splayed across Y/N’s lower back as leverage and finally pushed in, only an inch or two, Y/N instantly clenching down on him with a broken whimper.

“Holy fuck,” Yoongi grunted, moving as slowly as he could, and when his pelvis was flush with her ass, he weakly collapsed on top of her, bracing a hand beside her head. Y/N felt her walls fluttering around his generous length and girth frantically, the position she was in making him feel like he was in her guts, and she was hardly aware of the pathetic sounds spilling from her mouth. “This pussy…”

“F-full,” Y/N stuttered, Yoongi’s breath on the back of her neck as he let her get used to the feeling, grazing his teeth along the junction of her shoulder and throat. “Hnngh–”

“Yeah? Stuffed full of me?” Yoongi’s voice was dark, dulcet, and in her ear, and Yoongi was all Y/N could feel– pressed against her back, scent clinging to the sheets, cock buried in her pussy. “Fuck. Stop clenching.”

“C-can’t help it,” Y/N replied, Yoongi wrapping his hand around her waist, giving his hips an experimental roll, Y/N choking on an intake of air with the movement. “Oh, d-don’t stop–”

Moaning into her neck, Yoongi snapped his hips forward, setting a strong, almost punishing pace right away, unable to hold back, and wanting to fuck the jealousy out of her. Yoongi was always more fond of showing, rather than telling, anyways.

“I’m yours,” Yoongi mumbled into the skin over her shoulder blade, sucking a bruise into the flesh, the sounds of flesh hitting flesh filling his bedroom, Y/N’s voice scratchy from the constant mewls leaving her mouth. “Got that?”

“Nn– ah! Oh,” Y/N felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes, the support from the pillow beneath her adding even more pressure to the way he was pounding into her, even the fabric of the pillowcase adding friction against her clit in the most delicious way. “Mine!”

“That’s right,” Yoongi peeled himself from her back, adjusting his position so he could fuck into her with greater strength, gathering up the hair along the nape of her neck and wrapping it around his wrist. “All for you, baby. Say my name.”

“Yoongi, oh my g– fuck, gonna cum soon,” Y/N wailed, the way he was tugging her hair back making her scalp smart, but between the pain and the pleasure, Y/N was nearly careening off the edge of sanity. “Please.”

“Please, what?” Yoongi spat through his teeth, not letting up on the pace one bit, kneading the flesh of her asscheek. “You’ve already got my cock, you need more?”

Contrary to his taunts, Yoongi gave her more, reaching underneath, using a forefinger to rub circles around her clit, Y/N’s vision going white as she came without warning, clamping down on Yoongi so hard he swore colorfully, hips stuttering against her ass as she writhed from beneath him. He let go of her hair, kissing down the length of her spine, helping her through her orgasm as best he could while keeping up the swift pace of his thrusts.

“Can you take a bit more, love?” Yoongi soothed a hand down her back, her body shivering with the aftershocks of her orgasm, nodding dazedly as she pressed her ass backwards into Yoongi. “Come here, roll over. Wanna see your face.”

Y/N was boneless, but Yoongi helped her flip over, tossing the pillow to the side. She whined when his cock slipped from her, but Yoongi was quick to remedy that, pushing back in as soon as her limp arms looped around his neck. Groaning at the new angle, Yoongi kept his thrusts slow, punctuated by a light grind to the spongy tissue of her G-spot, Y/N dissolving into a complete mess. The mood turned sensual, Yoongi leaning down to press his lips to hers, and even if Y/N wasn’t a hybrid, she could sense his love for her by the way he held the side of her face tenderly. Tucking hair behind his ear, Y/N crossed her ankles behind his back, feeling the way his cock throbbed inside of her– he must have been getting close.

“Come, Yoongi,” Y/N pressed her forehead to her lover’s, raking her nails down his chest lightly. “Wanna feel you come for me.”

“Y/N,” Yoongi gasped, Y/N feeling her gut tighten once again when he hit a sweet spot inside of her, and after two more strokes, she was coming again, gasping and moaning into the leopard hybrid’s mouth. “I–”

Without warning, Yoongi stilled, his mouth on her collarbone, teeth sinking into the flesh, heightening the bliss of her orgasm. She felt him spilling inside of her, sweet, filthy nothings falling from his lips as he came, tongue swiping over the bite he had given her absently. Hazy from the scenting, she let Yoongi roll the two of them onto their sides, his cock still nestled between her walls, the leopard hybrid cleaning up the wound on her neck in a way that was more primal, feline, than ever, his chest rumbling with loud purrs.

Limbs like jelly, Y/N closed her eyes, melting into Yoongi’s sheets as his tongue dragged over her neck lazily, the post-fuck and post-scenting haze having her so lax, she hardly noticed the mixture of their releases rolling down her thighs. She didn’t have enough energy to say anything, simply clinging to him like a baby kangaroo, fingers gliding along his sweat-dampened back.

“Still jealous?” Yoongi broke the content silence, tracing shapes along her ribcage lovingly, his purrs unbroken and strong.

“No,” Y/N replied meekly, hiding her face in his collarbones, suddenly embarrassed she entertained any feelings of envy at all.

“I know, can’t smell it anymore,” Yoongi snickered, Y/N rolling her eyes at the fact that he was back to his sarcastic, deadpan self. “Guess I just had to fuck it out of you.”

“You’re so vulgar,” Y/N lightly shoved his chest away, wincing when she felt him pull out of her, and the sensation of his cum dribbling out of her. “I never would have thought.”

“Gotta keep you on your toes,” Yoongi retorted, kissing her forehead gently, his lips bent upwards in a tiny smile. “Wanna get cleaned up?”

“Mmm,” Y/N groaned noncommittally, knowing that walking would probably be an issue. “Not really.”

“I can carry you,” Yoongi’s laughter grew in volume, clearly enjoying that he had completely ruined her, squeezing the meat of her ass in one hand playfully.

“Fine,” Y/N pouted, not ready to break free from their post-coital bliss, but knowing that it would probably be wise to bathe and attempt to look normal before the other hybrids came home.

Yoongi carried her bridal-style into his bathroom, and Y/N leaned on his shoulder while the water heated up, enjoying his warmth and presence. Once in the shower, the leopard hybrid supported her, her back to his chest as the hot water beat down on their skin. Hooking his chin over her shoulder, his wet hair tickling her cheek, Y/N gripped the forearms he had wrapped around her middle, sighing.

“I love you,” Yoongi said quietly, planting a kiss on the bite he had given her.

Turning in his arms, Y/N chose to respond by leaning up, brushing her lips against his softly, hands winding around his neck as steam filled the shower.

“Hope you didn’t fill up too much on the toffee,” Y/N unbuckled her seatbelt, making sure the parking ticket for the garage she parked in was stuffed in her wallet.

“I didn’t! I skipped lunch, too,” Seokjin was hurrying out of the car, glancing around the parking garage curiously, correcting his stride to match Y/N’s, pulling his wool coat tightly around his body.

“Aw, you didn’t have to do that. You must be starving,” Y/N pouted, her fingertips twitching to hold his hand. It was Valentine’s Day, and most of the day had passed by uneventfully, but that evening, she and Seokjin traveled into the city for the cooking lesson.

“I just didn’t know how much we’d end up cooking, wanted to be prepared to stuff my face!” Seokjin joked, a merry smile on his face. After she had given him his Valentine that morning, it seemed that goofy, fond Seokjin was back, and he could finally smile at her with it actually reaching his eyes. Progress was progress, she supposed.

“I think we’re making three courses,” Y/N grinned as Seokjin pulled the door to the mall for her. He looked gorgeous, as always, in black slacks and a powder blue button down, his wavy hair swept off his forehead. “Three courses, three different wine tastings. I’m excited!”

Seokjin’s sleek black tail flicked behind him, sticking close to Y/N’s side as they navigated through Copley Place, and when she felt him growing nervous with the amount of people clogging up the narrow aisles of Eataly, she hooked her hand around his elbow, pulling him into her side for comfort.

Fortunately for Seokjin, the actual classroom where they were going to cook in was spacious, at the back of the market, and there were only a few other pairs of people taking the class with them. Seokjin appeared to be the only hybrid, however, and naturally every pair of eyes in the room was on him as he draped his coat on the rack by the door, his ears fluttering excitedly as he noticed the station that had a card with Y/N’s last name printed on it.

The instructor appeared to be an older Italian man, one with a thick accent and golden skin, greeting everybody happily. To Y/N’s relief, the instructor didn’t greet Seokjin any differently than anyone else, simply handing the jaguar hybrid two red-and-white striped aprons for them to wear.

“Today, we’ll be learning about the cuisine of Rome, and cooking some of my favorite dishes from all over Italy,” the man began once all of the students were in their aprons and standing eagerly behind their stations. Y/N noticed that most of the people in the class were older, perhaps married, couples, with one pair of college students in the back of the room. “We’ll be making a bruschetta, linguine alle vongole, and saltimbocca for our three courses, all paired with a lovely wine.”

Seokjin was nearly shaking with excitement beside her, checking out all of the dials on the stovetop, the raw ingredients in front of them, and the array of kitchen tools available for their use. He paid rapt attention to the man explaining the origins of the dishes they were going to prepare, his ears perked up. Once the little history lesson was over, the instructor walked them through the steps to make fresh pasta for the vongole, and she and Seokjin exchanged smug smirks– they both already knew how to make fresh pasta, and while some of the other couples were struggling to assemble the dough, her’s and Seokjin’s was plastic wrapped and chilling in the mini fridge already. Seokjin positively preened under the praise of the instructor, his neck turning red, and Y/N snorted and shook her head as she sliced through some tomatoes for the bruschetta topping.

Meanwhile, Seokjin handled the veal steaks for the saltimbocca, using a mallet to pound the meat to a certain thinness, and the first round of wine came around, the glass they were to nurse while they cooked. Here and there, Seokjin would crack a joke or two, corny as ever, but they made her choke on her wine and laughter.

“When asked about his cooking skills, the sage replied, ‘I’m herbally gifted’,” Seokjin held up a sage leaf he was using toothpicks to attaching to the veal steaks, waving it in front of Y/N’s face with a goofy grin.

“Jin, stop, I’m gonna pee my pants,” Y/N whispered, cheeks sore from smiling so much. It had been a while since she spent such quality time with Seokjin, and she realized how much she missed him, with a painful twang of her heart.

Seokjin’s grin only grew wider, hand reaching up to ruffle Y/N’s hair affectionately, one of the first times he actually touched her since finding out about her and Yoongi. Delighted, Y/N took a happy sip of wine, getting back to work on the sauce for the vongole.

Once everything was cooked, chairs were brought out, along with the fruity pinot grigio to be paired with the bruschetta, all while the instructor answered questions about Italian cuisine, and told stories about his childhood in Rome.

“This is so good,” Seokjin sighed, munching on a piece of bruschetta, his orange eyes wide as he tasted all of the flavors. “We get the recipes after, right?”

“Yep! We can make this whole meal again for the others. I think Hoseok would really enjoy this, too,” Y/N clinked glasses with the older woman from the station behind her, Seokjin’s cheeks beginning to color with the alcohol, already.

“This is so much fun, Y/N. We should do this again,” Seokjin suddenly became serious, glancing around the room, before his eyes softened and he made eye contact with her again.

“Absolutely. I’ve missed spending time with you,” Y/N replied without hesitancy, Seokjin’s neck turning red again when she admitted that.

Looking away, their interaction was interrupted by the instructor telling them to finish off the sauce for the vongole, and Seokjin drained his wine glass urgently before hopping to his feet to turn on the burner.

After two more glasses of wine and two delicious entrees the two of them cooked, her and her jaguar hybrid were loopily weaving their way through the market with a packet of recipes, a bottle of wine Seokjin liked the most, and free Italian cookies in their arms. Seokjin, bolder now that he was tipsy, insisted on holding the bag with all of the items, and finally, he offered her a hand as they walked through the mall.

“Want to go for a little walk before we head back to the car?” Y/N asked, threading her fingers through his, Seokjin staring down at her through his eyelashes with that thoughtful expression she had seen on his face only once or twice before. Truthfully, she both wanted to spend a bit more alone time with Seokjin, and she felt like some cool nighttime air would sober her up enough to drive home confidently.

“Okay,” Seokjin squeezed her hand, following her down the escalator to the street outside of the mall, the sky already dark and the city lights keeping the streets illuminated.

Not too many people were out, everyone seemed to be having their romantic Valentine’s Day dinners in the multiple restaurants studding the sidewalks, and it was much too cold for a leisurely stroll for most people. Tummy full, she stuck close to Seokjin, who radiated heat like a furnace, and Y/N was grateful for the slight buzz from the wine that was keeping her warm as well. The two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence, only broken once or twice when Seokjin would ask her about a restaurant they would stroll by.

“Thank you for tonight,” Seokjin spoke out of the blue, letting Y/N hook her arm around his in an attempt to steal some of his body heat.

“You don’t have to thank me, honey, it was for your birthday!” Y/N insisted, reaching up to flick the dangling earrings that were threaded through his left earlobe– another birthday present from her. “I should thank you for letting me use the other ticket. I learned so much, got to hang out with you for a while, ate yummy food…”

Y/N paused, feeling cold and wet hit her forehead, stopping in front of an old church, the lights from inside making the colored stained glass glow and cast pretty hues over the sidewalk. Looking up, she made a soft noise of exclamation, clumps of snow falling from the sky. Letting go of Seokjin temporarily, she did a twirl, head craned skyways, admiring the way the snowflakes floated gently through the air. She didn’t realize Seokjin was repeating her name until his hand was on her shoulder, his lip tucked between his teeth.

“Ah, we can head back now. You’re probably freezing, huh?” Y/N held her hand out for him again, but this time, he didn’t take it.

“Y/N, I have something I want to tell you, but I’m not sure how you’ll take it,” Seokjin looked from her flushed face to the windows of the church, shades of blue, green, and red highlighting his features. A ball forming in the pit of her stomach, she dropped her outstretched hand, nervous about the seriousness of his tone, his whole voice going down a pitch.

“It’s okay, tell me,” Y/N, while nervous, was curious as well, freezing when Seokjin released a breathy exhale, gathering up her hands in one of his, the contact appearing to ease his nerves.

“I– I know you, um. You’re with Yoongi, you love him,” Seokjin swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. Wine churning in her gut, she nodded, taken aback that that was the night he chose to first address the relationship. “And I’m happy for you, I am, Yoongi too. But…”

“It makes you uncomfortable?” Y/N murmured, heart beating painfully in her chest. Seokjin bit his lip again, shaking his head, but conflict flashed in his eyes.

“No. I mean, somewhat, yes,” Seokjin sucked his teeth, tugging her closer into his proximity.

“Is there a specific reason why, Seokjinnie?” Y/N would be heartbroken if Seokjin would push her away after such a wonderful night spent together, but she would deal with it if it came to that.

“I’m,” Seokjin swallowed thickly again, before squaring his shoulders with his ears flat to his head, lowering his face closer to Y/N’s like he was about to tell her a secret. “Because I’m in love with you, too.”

Taglist; @blancflms @grazysf @sbromp @jaxavance @sunderlight @ot7nem @mageprincess7 @wittyreader @drenix004 @mayla548 @skyys-universe @ddaeng-angmoh @trtlthts @exfolitae @kalala22 @xiusmarshmallow @bangtans-momma @zae007live @paigetj @singukieee @lilacdreams-00 @dreamerwasfound @ninjacups @osakis-gf @itwillbealways-d @xthefuckerysquaredx @momowantscats @molshole @gooooomz @uarmyhore @lopprhe @oopscoop @xicanacorpse @i-like-anime12 @hemziii @demarie04 @im-sinking-in-mud @talkyoongitome @bangtxnbxunch @primrose2507 @kihyunniesmonbebe @7evensin @lilmxchis @00ihatesnaku @neverthefirstchoice @missyoueverysingleday @cathy-1997 @prybts @doublebunv

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rocksandrobots · 2 years

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Phantoms of the Past: Chapter 41 - Thanksgiving

"Turkey, cranberries, yams, box stuffing, gravy..." Aunt Cass read her grocery list out loud. "We'll need more butter, and eggs...Am I missing anything?"

"Don't forget the yeast rolls." Hiro informed her as he joined everyone else at the kitchen table.

"And the potatoes." Tadashi added, leaning back in his chair.

"Oh right, thank you." She scribbled that down. "Is there anything you'd like to add, Varian?"

Varian only shrugged. "I don't know what Americans usually have for their harvest feast, but we'd always have spiced bimberry wine during the Goodwill Festival."

"What the heck is a 'bimberry'?" Tadashi asked.

"Yeah, I'm sorry sweetie, but we're not having any wine with Thanksgiving dinner." Aunt Cass shook her head. "But, I'll let you make any side dish that you want."

"Hmmm... maybe I'll just saute some green beans or something."

"I think green beans will be a nice side." Aunt Cass agreed.

"Then can you pick up some mushrooms and onions to go with it?"

Aunt Cass nodded and wrote that down on her list. "Now, what should we have for dessert?"

"Pumpkin pie."

"Apple pie."

Hiro and Varian blurted out their personal pie preference simultaneously, and then eyed each other challengingly as soon as the words were out of their mouth.

"Pumpkin pie is a tradition." Hiro argued.

"For you maybe. Apple pie is a classic harvest festival food the world over." Varian argued back.

"Boys, boys," Aunt Cass interrupted. "Perhaps we can compromise? What if I made a fusion Apple-Pumpkin Pie? Huh?"

She smiled wide, getting excited at the prospect of experimental baking, but the two teens only looked at her in horror.

"Combine pumpkin puree with chunks of apple?" Varian gagged.

"It'd be like eating baby food." Hiro agreed.

"What blaspheme do you speak, woman?" Varian finished.

Aunt Cass gave him a very unamused glare, and he apologetically smiled and backed away. She sighed. "Tadashi, you haven't weighed in yet. Which pie would you want?"

Tadashi had been reclining in the kitchen chair, eyes closed, one foot balanced against the table leg, with his hands cradling the back of his head. He had listened to his brothers' argument with amusement, not really having a stake in either option.

He opened one eye and gave the two boys beside him a wry smile. "Ah, I've always been partial to pecan pie myself."

Aunt Cass rolled her eyes, and Hiro and Varian went straight back to arguing.

"Apple."

"Pumpkin."

"Apple."

"Pumpkin."

"Apple."

"Pumpkin."

"Pecan." Tadashi threw in at the end in the most frustratingly cheerful manner possible.

"Ugh! Enough!" Aunt Cass shouted. "I'm not making three separate pies for Thanksgiving. There's only going to be six of us, and Baymax doesn't even eat."

"Nuh-uh, nine if you count Ruddiger, Lorenzo, and Mochi." Varian said, picking up the hapless cat on the counter and holding him aloft.

Aunt Cass stalled as Mochi gave a confused meow.

"No animals at the dinner table." She said.

Varian sulked and hugged the cat close to him but didn't protest further.

"Is Krei not joining us?" Tadashi asked and Hiro glared daggers at him.

"No, he's spending the holiday with his mother in Italy." Aunt Cass shrugged and walked back to the grocery list and sat down. "How about a chocolate pie, instead? Everyone likes chocolate."

Hiro raised an eyebrow, "And you're not just saying that because chocolate pie is your favorite?"

Aunt Cass gave a smug smile. "As the person buying the groceries, I'm making an executive decision, chocolate it is." And she wrote down pie shells and chocolate on the list.

"Now wait a minute, we haven't asked Baba yet what she'd like?" Tadashi pointed out.

"I'm not putting grandma in the middle of your squabbles, and besides..." Aunt Cass pulled out her phone to look at the time. "She's about to board her flight. She couldn't tell us what she wanted now even if we did call her, and I want to get the shopping done before we pick her up at the airport."

She stood up back up and walked over to the pantry. "Let me make sure we have enough noodles for th- Ruddiger!" She stopped short upon opening the cabinet and saw the glutinous raccoon gorging himself on the last can of whipped cream, again.

The wild creature scurried away when he saw her furious expression, and Aunt Cass silently counted to ten. "Well, I guess I need to add whipped cream to the list, and more child safety locks." she grumbled.

----------------------

The airport was beyond busy as people traveled for the upcoming holiday. The Hamada family hurried through the crowd to the exit ramp where Grandma Hamada was supposed to off-board.

Varian couldn't completely stave off his nerves as he waited with his new found family, impatiently tapping his foot and occasionally biting his lower lip, as he crossed his arms and stood there in thought.

This would be his first time meaning Tadashi's and Hiro's grandmother. She lived in Japan and only came to visit on rare occasions. Meanwhile it was even more difficult for Aunt Cass to get the time off to make the trip the other way around. Tadashi and Hiro had only been once or twice themselves when they were very young; back when their parents had been alive.

Of course there were phones and emails in this world, so they could still keep in contact with each other, though given her age, 'Baba', as she was called by her grandkids, couldn't always keep up with the newer technology. Varian had overheard their conversations before, but he barely understood them as he wasn't fluent in Japanese yet, though he was learning here and there.

Either way the little family was overjoyed to be seeing her again, but Varian however was a bundle of nerves. What was he supposed to call her? Baba as well? She wasn't his grandmother technically speaking. He never had grandparents before. His own, having died before he was born, all save for his mother's father, but he had passed away when Varian was still a baby. He had no memories of the man.

What would the woman think of him? What had his step brothers told her of him? Would she too treat him as family? Or just be distant but polite? Would she be confused by his presence? Would she even like him? Would he like her? What if she hated him? What then?

Aunt Cass noticed him tapping his foot even faster as he stewed. She placed a calming hand on his shoulder and he took a deep steady breath.

"Don't worry. I'm sure the flight went well and she'll be here soon. She must be gathering her bags right now." Aunt Cass said.

"Wait I see her." Hiro called out and pointed to a little old lady shuffling out of the exit ramp door. She was thin and withered with age, her thick gray hair was piled high on top of her head in a messy bun, and she had what looked like a kind face creased with laugh lines.

"Baba!" Tadashi called out and rushed to her. He scooped her up into a hug, nearly lifting the petite woman off of the ground as he did so.

"Konnichiwa, Grandma. Genki desuka?" Hiro greeted her as he joined them. The grandmother made a surprised, joyous face upon seeing him.

"Oya oya, kon'nani se ga takaku natta no ne." She proclaimed and held her hand up to comment on Hiro's increased height. Though really, they were the same size. Then she wrapped her youngest grandson into a tight hug.

Aunt Cass gently grabbed Varian's hand and pulled him along to meet the woman.

"Hi Grandma Hamada, It's so nice to see you again." Aunt Cass said, slowly and a little louder than usual.

Tadashi interpreted for her, but there was little need as the old lady recognized her instantly.

"Cass?" She said the thick accent, a huge smile spreading on her face. "Cass!' and hugged the other woman as well before breaking away and eyeing Varian with interest.

"Sore de, kono hito wa daredesu ka?"

Tadashi introduced them and Varian offered his hand to shake. "He-hello, ma'am it's nice to meet you."

The older woman ignored his hand and reached up to cup his face, squishing his cheeks.

"Omae wa nante hansamuna yatsuda!"

"Hai, kyasu obasan ga yōshi ni mukaemasu. Kare wa watashitachi no atarashī kyōdai no yōdesu."

"Ē to, anata no kyōdai wa watashi no magodesu. O bāchan to yonde kudasai, Varian-chan."

"She says to just call her Baba." Tadashi informed him.

"Really? Th-that's great." Varian tried to smile though it came out looking more like a grimace as his cheeks were still being squished.

Baba Hamada returned his smile and finally let him go. She then wrapped one arm around Tadashi's and another around his own as they all started to leave the airport.

"I can't wait to show you what I've been working on when we get home Baba." Tadashi continued on. "Odorokidesu!"

"Ā, watashi wa odoroki ga daisukidesu!"

----------------------

Baba sat upon the living room couch, her hands covering her eyes, dutifully waiting for her grandson to tell her she can look again.

Tadashi finished carrying Baymax's charging case down the stairs and sat it in front of the elderly woman.

"Okay... you can open your eyes.... now." He then pressed a button on the case and stepped away as Baymax inflated.

Baba opened her eyes just in time to see the robot unfurl.

"Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion."

The robotic nurse waved and a huge smile spread across the old woman's face. She gasped with joy and applauded her grandson.

"Ō, Tadashi-chan, nante kashikoi gajetto o tsukutta nda!"

"I detect that you speak Japanese. Allow me to translate. Kon'nichiwa. Watashi wa beimakkusu, anata no pāsonaruherusukeakonpaniondesu. Ima, sukyan o kanryō shite imasu. Anata wa karada-teki ni kenkōdesuga, ninshishō no shoki no chōkō ni kurushinde imasu. Tekisetsuna kea ni wa,-tai o ugokasu koto, kenkō-tekina shokuji, jūbun'na suimin, kazoku ya yūjin to sugosu jikan ga fukuma remasu."

"What did he say?" Varian whispered to Hiro.

"He said that grandma is at high risk for dementia. She's been kind of forgetful of things lately." Hiro sadly whispered back.

"I made him for you Baba." Tadashi said. "That way you can have someone to help you when we can't be there."

"Watashi no tame?"

"Anata no tame ni. O mochikaeridesu."

Just then a second Baymax waddled down the stairs.

"Hello." He waived.

"Kon'nichiwa," the first Baymax waved back.

"I don't know if the world can handle two Baymaxs at once." Varian joked, as the two robots started to repeat everything back to each other.

----------------------

Varian wiped his hands off on his apron as he walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. He had been helping Aunt Cass with preparing for tomorrow's supper, and he was covered in flour from mixing the pie crusts.

He found his brothers and Baba sitting on the couch looking through a photo album.

"Sore ga sotsugyōshiki no otōsandesu. Kare wa totemo kōfun shite imashita!"

Varian moved closer and peered over their shoulders to see what they were looking at. He didn't understand what Baba was saying but he saw a man who looked very similar to Tadashi wearing glasses and holding a diploma, but the faded edges of the picture told Varian that it was Tadashi's father instead.

"Hey Aunt Cass wants help with the clean up." He informed them.

"Then why did you come in here?" Hiro asked.

"I cooked." Varian snapped back.

Tadashi rolled his eyes and stood up. "I'll go do the dishes." he volunteered with a sigh.

As he left, Baba beckoned Varian to come sit next to her. He did so, though he didn't fully understand why. He didn't know any of the people in the photo album.

Baba lifted up the album and pointed to one particular picture, this one of a portly gentleman.

"Soshite kochira ga Shoi ojisandesu."

Varian looked to Hiro for clarification.

"That's Uncle Shoi."

"Soshite Shikishi obasan."

"Aunt Shikishi." Hiro echoed for Varian's benefit.

Varian stared at the faded photographs with interest. It was easy to take for granted in this world full of modern marvels that such instant images were yet another scientific miracle that Corona didn't have. Portraits were expensive and laborious affairs. Many people didn't have them and they certainly didn't have ones depicting everyday normal life. At best you'd get a lovely but formal family gathering or a stuffy imposing painting to try and show off how wealthy you were.

But here, the pictures were full of smiling people, laughing, loving, and just goofing off. Varian snickered at what looked like Aunt Cass and her sister having an eating contest and trying to stuff their faces with noodles.

The photos brought the past to life in a way that stories and paintings just couldn't. These were all people who once lived full lives and somehow they all made an impact upon the world, however seemingly small or distant.

Varian pointed to a picture that interested him, of a pilot standing next to an old timey airplane.

"Ā, soreha watashinochichideshita. Kare wa sensō de tonda." Baba said.

"She says that's our great grandfather. Her dad. He was a pilot during War World II."

Varian frowned. "Wasn't Japan and America enemies in that war?"

"Yeah, but that was decades ago. No one really thinks about it now."

Varian's mind turned to the Saporians and their centuries long feud with Corona, but declined to mention the stark difference.

"Chichi mo hikōki o tsukurimashita. Kare wa enjiniadeshita. Kare wa Itaria de kōkū o mananda. Tōji, watashi wa wazuka 4-saideshita."

Varian's ears perked up at the familiar word.

"Itaria? You mean Italy?"

She nodded.

"Parli italiano, allora?" He asked in Italian.

"Ooh, molto poco." She laughed back in Italian as well.

"This is great! Now we can talk to each other!" Varian said and he launched into hurried conversation in Italian with Baba answering in much shorter and simpler sentences.

"Dove hai vissuto in Italia?"

"Napoli"

"Oh non sono mai stato a Napoli, ma ho sempre voluto andare a Venezia. Hanno tutte le migliori università. Hai studiato anche lì?"

Baba held up one finger "Un anno. Sonogo, watashitachiha Nihon ni modorimashita."

Now it was Hiro's turn to feel completely lost. "Wait, you speak Italian too?"

"Of course." Varian scoffed. "All of the most important scientific dissertations are printed in either Italian or Latin."

Then ignoring his brother's dumbfounded look, Varian turned the page on the album and pointed to another picture. This one of a very little girl in ponytails. "Sei tu?"

Baba nodded. "Watashi wa sonotoki 6-saideshita. Sei."

----------------------

Tadashi and Aunt Cass walked out of the kitchen to find Varian and Baba engrossed in a conversation together. They were both speaking what sounded like Italian of all things! He was helping her crochet while the new Baymax bot sat next to them holding the yarn and translating every now and then when either of them got stuck.

Hiro sat in the chair across from them playing a game of chess with his own Baymax, while Mochi was curled up in his lap.

Aunt Cass smiled. "Isn't this nice? We have the whole family together. The only one missing is..."

She paused as realization hit her. She turned back around, ran into the kitchen again, and flung open the pantry.

"Ruddiger!"

The raccoon clutched at the can of whip cream in his mouth and started to run away. Aunt Cass gave chase with a broom.

"Get back here you sweet cream thief!"

Tadashi doubled over with laughter at the sight, while Varian rushed to help, and Ruddiger jumped on top of Hiro's head. Baba only viewed the speckle with mild curiosity. Which only made Tadashi laugh harder.

"Stop laughing, help!" Hiro ordered.

"Okay, okay," He wheezed as he also gave chase, avoiding whipped cream as it splattered everywhere out of the punctured can. Man, he loved his chaotic family.

----------------------

"Are you still up, sweetheart? It's almost one." Aunt Cass yawned when she found Varian sitting at the kitchen table. He was looking through one of her old photo albums.

"I'm going to bed in a minute." He distractedly said as he turned another page.

Aunt Cass knew that it was a reflexive answer, but she didn't press the matter. Instead she poured them each a glass of milk and took a seat next to him.

"What's on your mind?'' she asked.

"Just… wishing I had my own old family photographs to look at."

Aunt Cass pouted. "They're back in Old Corona, aren't they?"

Varian shook his head. "They never existed. People don't have cameras to take them."

"No one?" Aunt Cass balked. "Not even on a cellphone?"

"There's no phones either. Cell or otherwise."

Aunt Cass rubbed her temples with both her hands. "Wait. You're telling me that you come from a country without cars, phones, cameras, and or even electric ovens?"

"There's no electricity at all, aaanndd, um, n-no indoor plumbing." He admitted.

Cass blinked in disbelief. "And you all travel in hot air balloons!?"

"Oh, no. Only the Saporians have airships."

"Of course. Silly me." Aunt Cass said as she gave a strained smile. "And what else do they not have? Television, clocks, the wheel?"

Varian only responded to her sarcasm with a reproachful look.

Aunt Cass sighed. "I'm sorry. It's.. it just a lot to wrap my head around. I guess not everywhere is just like San Fransokyo and it's easy to forget that sometimes."

"It's okay." Varian forgave her and went back to looking through the album.

"So you don't have any pictures of your family at all?"

"Well dad once had a family portrait painted. I was just a baby at the time….. It-it's the only image I have of my mom…. I remember little things about her; like, helping her in her lab, or watching her bake pies in the kitchen, b-but I can't see her face clearly."

Aunt Cass didn't say anything. She simply placed a comforting hand on his back. That pulled him out of his melancholy thoughts and he gave her a sad smile.

"I bet you two would have gotten along great."

Aunt Cass returned the smile. "Yeah, I bet we would've been the best of friends."

"What about you? Don't you have any pictures of your parents?"

Aunt Cass seemed momentarily tripped up by such a question. "Well, I do, actually. In fact I think there's a few in this photo album even."

She turned the book all the way to the back. There were only three photos therein.

One was of a man and woman on their wedding day. Then second was the same man and woman standing on a front porch with two little girls. The third was of Aunt Cass and her sister as teenagers.

Varian was confused. "That's it?"

"Well, that's all there is in this album. I have more. I would just have to dig them up. They're probably in the attic…"

"But I don't understand. I've never seen pictures of these people hanging up. I recognize your sister here, but…"

"Oh well, that's my mom, and that's my dad, and that's me and Mary as kids." She helpfully pointed out.

Varian gave her a disappointed frown. He knew when adults were trying to avoid a subject of conversation.

Aunt Cass to tell he was going to let the matter drop. She let out a long slow breath and cast her eyes upwards as she thought of the best way to explain.

"I… had a complicated relationship with my parents."

"Complicated?"

"I loved them, and they loved me… when they were around that is. My father worked in construction. He'd build things like banks and grocery stores, or gas stations, all over the country. He was often the head site manager and his work would send him away weeks, sometimes, months at a time."

She softly laughed as she remembered something. "He'd always come back with presents for us, and he'd always say how sorry he was for missing a soccer game or a chorus recital. Once he even missed my birthday…. And I suppose he really was sorry, but he still had to work."

"That sounds like my dad. He never traveled that far away, but he was always busy. B-but I get it. Running an entire village takes up a lot of time, and it's an important job. Vital even."

Aunt Cass gave him an empathetic look. "But it still hurts, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "What about your mom, did she work too?"

"She did. Uh, she was a bank teller, and she was home a lot more often."

"But?"

"She… well, she struggled with an illness and she was in and out of rehab all throughout her life. In a lot of ways, my big sister raised me more than even our own parents did. Oooh she used to make me so mad!" Aunt Cass smiled as the subject turned to her sister. "Little Miss Perfect. That's what I'd call her to annoy her. She never got in trouble. She always had good grades. She had her life together by age twenty one, while I was still mucking about and messing things up well after college. She'd always be the one to hunt me down and drag back home whenever I'd run off to do something stupid."

"You? Do something dumb and reckless? Never." Varian mocked.

Aunt Cass rolled her eyes. "Yes. I was the 'problem child' growing up. I drove my parents crazy. B-but sometimes, that was the only way I could get their attention."

She gave a thoughtful distance look as she stared past the pictures in album.

"So you keep their photos in here, so that you only have to remember them when you want to." Varian said, giving voice to her reluctance.

"Yeah. Sometimes it's just easier, in order to remember someone for the good moments over the bad."

Varian slowly nodded his understanding before looking back down at the pictures.

"So what's a good memory then?"

"Umm… well, that picture was taken on Easter." She pointed to the one of all of them on the front porch. "Dad had the whole week off, and brought all of us new Sunday dresses. Mom boiled eggs for us to color, and dad hid them out in the front lawn, and Mary and I just had a blast going egg hunting."

"Egg hunting?"

"Yeah, it's when you hide a bunch of eggs and you go look for them."

"Why?"

Aunt Cass shrugged. "Well because it's fun, for one, and two it's tradition here."

"We paint eggs for Easter in Corona too, but I never heard of hiding them."

"Well what do you do with them?"

"We put them into Easter baskets for good luck."

Aunt Cass smiled. "Yeah we have Easter baskets here too. Only we put candy in ours instead of eggs. Unless it's eggs with candy inside of them."

Varian made a face at the thought of boiled eggs with chocolate inside them. "How would you even get the candy inside of it? Is it like a sweet deviled egg or…"

"Oh! Oh no." Aunt Cass laughed. "It's a plastic egg. You open it up to find a treat inside."

"Oooh… yeah that makes a lot more sense." Varian laughed with her. "I guess different cultures would have different holiday traditions, huh?"

"Yeah, oh and speaking of holidays, tomorrow is Thanksgiving! We're getting up early in the morning to finish cooking so you should get some rest."

"Alright. Night Aunt Cass."

"Goodnight."

She kissed him on the top of his head as she stood up to leave and then waved him goodnight.

----------------------

Varian tossed and turned in the dim twilight of early morning. He had been woken up by another nightmare, but it wasn't the rocks nor the faceless monster from his dreams that haunted him now. Instead he was plagued by memories of his past, some of them bad but most were just bittersweet.

His thoughts turned to the Goodwill Festival. It was Corona's harvest festival and the closest thing Varian could compare to America's Thanksgiving.

Instead of turkey, they would have had boiled ham, fresh fish and other seafood, baked capon, roasted lamb, and his father would have gone hunting the day before. They would have had rabbit, quail, duck, and if they were fortunate that year, his father may have even caught a deer to share at the feast.

For all of this world's wonders and plentiful goods, Varian found himself missing the simpler dishes of his home; humble pie, black sausage, hasenpfeffer, pickled herring, things that most Americans either never heard of or would turn their nose up at in disgust.

Oh and the bread! The women of the village would have spent all morning in the castle kitchens baking every type of bread and pastry imaginable. His entire home would smell like a bakery for days; boiled puddings, rye loafs, pies, quiches, soft pretzels, tarts, sweet cakes, cookies of all kinds, yeast rolls, buttery scones, sticky buns with raisins...The list went on and on.

And as the women baked, the men would be grilling with fire pits outside. Varian would run between them, back and forth, finding ways to help, and excuses to taste test the mouth watering treats. There would have been grilled parsnips, boiled cabbage, stewed beats, pickled radishes, potatoes baked directly on the hot coals or fried into pancakes, eggplants smothered in cheese, squash soup severed in it's hollowed out gourd, ground mustard, glazed carrots, and roasted chestnuts.

Both fresh and preserved fruit of all kinds would be piled high upon the serving table; winter berries, frosted grapes, bilberry jam, freshly picked persimmons, the last of the summer cherries preserved in jelly, mashed pumpkin pudding, coveted oranges imported from spain and bought at the island market, juicy pears, candied lemon peels, and apples by the barrel full.

Apples were Old Corona's main crop, and they served them every which way imaginable; stewed, baked, boiled, roasted, mashed... They baked them in pies. They baked them in cakes. They fried them into crispy fritters. There were apple doughnuts, apple turnovers, apple croissants with apple butter, apple cider, apple crepes, dried apple leather, and apple crumbles with oatmeal. A man could get sick with apples at the harvest feast, but not Varian. It was one of his favorite foods.

His mouth began to water at the thought of sliced ham braised with onions and covered in applesauce. With a large hunk of cheese on the side and pumpernickel bread to sop everything up. He'd wash it all down with a good pint of beer, and for dessert, maybe some sweet gooey butterscotch drizzled over apple dumplings.

In addition to all the baked goods, there would have been candies and confectioneries galore laid out for people to snack on; honey coated walnuts, marzipan dipped in chocolate, fragile airy meringues, hard candies of various assorted flavors, salt water taffy, and chewy caramels. Many of these sweets would have been purchased from Monty's Sweet Shope in the capital and brought back to the village along with the oranges, coffee, and shellfish.

Varian was often tasked with the shopping. He was smart enough to keep count of the money and knew enough languages so as to not be cheated by any of the traveling merchants who just sailed into port. Plus it was a good excuse to check out the festivities on the island.

The islanders loved to play games like gopher grab, bobbing for apples, nine pins, axe throwing, eating contests, greased pole climbing, log sawing competitions, and Varian's favorite, Quartet. It was a simple card game, played with two decks, where you tried to collect as many four-of-a-kinds as possible. The person with the collectively highest number of cards won. Like all card games, it was ultimately more about numbers and strategy as opposed to strength and athletic skill; which Varian much preferred.

Then again there was still plenty to do beyond just playing games. Often there would be stage plays and puppet shows for the younger kids. Vendors from the world over would set up stalls selling rare goods, eager to make a profit off the holiday. A few local merchants would join in as well, though they tended to only stay open half the day. Sometimes there were fireworks over the docks towards the evening, and all throughout the day there was music and dancing in the town square. But of course, Varian couldn't spend the entire time exploring the pageantry on the island. Oh no, he had to return to the village before nightfall. That was when the real fun began.

While the castle he lived in had a dinning hall large enough to hold the entire village, the townspeople preferred to have the main feast outside with a roaring bonfire. They would play music, dance, sing, and compete in their own traditional games.

Varian would participate in it all. He'd bring his guitar and join in with the band, and sometimes he'd lead the village in song. Usually an old folk song that everyone knew, like Lavender Blue, Into the Green, Green Woods, or Grossvatertanz. Then other times he would dance alongside the other men of his village, performing the same steps that had been passed down from generation to generation for centuries. And he and his father would always perform prisyádka, a dance from his dad's home country, for the rest of the villagers.

Then there would be toasts and blessings, and prayers for a safe winter and an even bigger bounty for next year. His father would give a heartfelt speech talking about how proud he was of his people and how much he loved his home. And truly he did. His dad was normally a man of few words, and though his speeches were always short, they were full of joy and warmth. Quirin loved few things more than farming and his adopted home. Only his son could equal them in his heart.

Varian blinked back tears at the thought of his father. He turned his mind away from the traumatic memories that threatened to float up the surface as he tried to focus on the happier moments as he reminisced.

After the toasts, the feasting would recommence, the music would continue to play, and there would have been more games. The young men of the village, all older than Varian though, would play Hold the Stein, hoping to impress the ladies with their strength and endurance. While the girls would toss wreaths. Superstition had it that the girl who managed to land her wreath around the miniature maypole would be a spring bride.

As for the elders of the village, they enjoyed Schafkopf. It was another card game, one where you would team up with a partner and lay down cards with increasing or decreasing numbers or matching suits. The winner was the one to form the shape of a sheep's head with the cards, hence the name of the game, Schafkopf, or sheepshead.

Varian of course was never invited to participate in these games, as the village still viewed him as a little kid, even when he would insist that he was not. So he was left to just watch and cheer people on. Instead he was expected to play with the much younger children of the village and watch over them. They would run around playing things like tag, forfeits, or blindman's bluff; though being the oldest, Varian would mostly supervise so that the little ones wouldn't get hurt. With each passing year, it felt more and more as if he was stuck in the middle. Too young to be considered an respected adult but too old to fully join in with the tinier tots and their more rambunctious activities. He was taller, faster, and stronger than them and he knew it. He always had to hold back in order to give them a fair shot or even outright give up and feign defeat in order to make them happy.

Not that he minded too much. The other kids always giggled with delight when they managed to 'best' him at wrestling or catch and toss, and Varian was more than happy to boost their little egos.

He remembered them all by name. Gertie and her missing tooth; she probably would have grown in a new one by now. Curly haired Lisa and her baby brother Brian; he was barely old enough to walk last time Varian saw him. Then there was Henry, the oldest next to Varian. He was still only seven though. Wait... no.... he'd be nine.

Varian frowned.

Two years of his life were just gone, and it was sometimes difficult to reconcile that with the whirlwind of changes he'd gone through. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he still pretended as if he could someday return to his old life as if nothing had happened. As if his home and the people that lived in it were just frozen in time and if he could find them again then he could resume his life once more as if nothing bad had happened; maybe even with the addition of his new family.

Though in reality he knew this was just a fantasy.

He hadn't seen his people since King Frederic had them 'relocated'. They had been told that they were being granted more land, to start anew with. Right before the snowstorm, Varian had watched them leave, piled up into carriages and carts with their meager possessions, bundled up in their warmest winter clothes, and smiles of hope on their faces. He and his dad were supposed to join them later. They never did. They were given promises of money, seeds for new crops, extra livestock, and fresh timber to build new homes. This was all lies.

Perhaps in the beginning, when his Father was still alive and over seeing the move, this had genuinely been the plan. Yet Varian quickly found out that Frederic had failed to keep his promises. In typical royal fashion, his people were scattered across the country and unceremoniously dumped upon other communities who suddenly had to shoulder the burden of helping these people resettle.

After the revolution, Varian had made a vain attempt to reconnect with the Old Cornians but most did not answer his summons. He found Old Earl in the fishing village of Kaims; he had to sell his sheep to make ends meet and was now eking out a living repairing fishing nets in a shack by the sea. Then there was the widow Becca had joined the convent because they promised her food and shelter. They treated her well, and she seemed happy enough, but Varian knew it wasn't her first choice to live her life in devoted penance. He'd gotten a letter from Otis, posted marked from Vardaros. He'd had given up trying to till what little land he'd been granted outside of Likuts as the soil was too poor to grow anything. Finally he had stumbled upon Frances begging in the streets of the capital, unable to find work.

Varian had given him a job as assistant caretaker of the mountain retreat. It was a holiday home for the royals, well stocked and secluded. The Saporians had no interest in it as it wasn't on the island and therefore they had no need of knowing Varian's relationship to the man. It was safer that way.

He had escorted Frances to the mountain top manor and informed the head caretaker there that he was the new royal adviser. With his official paperwork and royal signet, few dared question him. Frances was given the position of head stable hand. Perhaps not the most glamorous job, but given how little anyone visited, it would have been easy enough work, and he'd be paid with free room and board.

Varian had stayed only long enough to make sure Frances was settled in and was then on his way. He traveled down the mountain back to Old Corona and continued on with his experiments. That was the last time he had spoken to anyone from his village before being flung into San Fransokyo.

Varian wondered if they were all still there? Rapunzel was back and presumably in charge again. The ditzy, hair-brained, dopey-eyed princess probably never gave more than two seconds of thought to the missing people of Old Corona; blindly believing her father and his empty promises without question. She wouldn't disturb any of the remaining villagers, but neither would she go out of her way to help them.

For all Varian knew, the evil king could have sent most of his people to the prison colony in the Lost Sea to be worked to death. His stomach turned at the thought. Frederic was well known to banish people on the flimsiest of reasons, and it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

Varian could only hope that Frederic decided that such an act would be too hard to hide from his people and so decided that subtly was the better part of valor. Frederic valued his reputation above all. It was his good standing with his brainwashed subjects that protected his power and allowed no one to question his actions or motivations... until it was too late that was. People critical of the royals often were criminalized with trumped up charges in order to tarnish their own reputations in the eyes of the public so that their pleas fell on deaf ears. Which might work on a poor orphan cut off from everyone he knows, not so much with an entire village. Hence why Frederic probably separated them all instead of granting them the means to start a new town, giving them paltry plots of land scattered about the kingdom, with no other resources, so as to claim that he fulfilled his promise.

Varian gritted his teeth and squeezed his hand into a tight fist as he took deep breaths to calm himself. He still hated the king with every fiber of his being and he often questioned if simply wiping his memories with Saporian magic was punishment enough. He wanted Frederic to rot away in a dungeon same as his victims had. He wanted to him to stew in his misery with full knowledge of what he had done and how he had only brought such torture upon himself.

Varian had to remind himself that controlling the royals was more beneficial to the public overall than outright punishing them. If the king and queen were supposedly on your side then no one would question your authority. But if the citizens thought their beloved leaders were in danger, then the fighting would have never stopped. Varian didn't want anyone to die in his quest for revenge... not anymore at least.

Guilt stabbed at his chest as the image of the townspeople returning, battered, bruised, and dirty from the mines to present their 'quotas' to him, valuable minerals and gemstones for his research, flashed through his mind. It was all to save his dad, he had told himself. They had refused to help before so Varian had made them help. He was teaching them a lesson, he had lied to himself.

Varian choked back a sob. God, how was he any different from Frederic?

Varian started to toss and turn once more. He flipped around on his stomach and hit his pillow as he cried, before collapsing once more as he sobbed.

It wasn't fair! He just wanted to go home. He just wanted to see his dad! Why was he made the bad guy for that!?

Ruddiger awoke at the sound of his tears. His faithful pet hoped off the plastic log Varian had hung up in the corner of the room and jumped up onto his bed. Varian sniffled as Ruddiger nuzzled him with his nose. The raccoon's whiskers tickled his face.

Varian sat up and hugged his pet close to him.

"You're all I have left, Ruddiger."

For the first time in two years, that statement truly felt like the truth to him. His home was gone. There would be no more fields to plow, fresh apples to harvest, or festivals to dance at. He'd never see his people again, the friends and neighbors that he'd grown up with. He would never see his dad ag- No!

He couldn't give up on his dad. Not yet. He could accept that his village was gone. He could accept that he'd never see his people again. But he could not accept that his father was gone forever. He couldn't accept that he'd be responsible for such a horror.

He let out a shakey breath and looked around at the his new bed room. He had put up posters of wrestlers and musicians that he liked on the walls and added more books to the shelf above his desk. Said desk was covered in papers, and held both his notes and Demantius journal. Over in the opposite corner, in addition to the fake log, there was also a cat tower for both Ruddiger and Mochi to play on. His skateboard and helmet were also leaning next to it. There were corners of clothing sticking out of the drawers of his dresser and he had his coat, goggles, and backpack hanging from a coat hanger screwed to his door. There was a hope chest at the foot of his bed where he kept his various possessions, and he had his boots, sneakers, and other shoes lined neatly in front of it.

It wasn't quite as familiar to him as his old bedroom in the castle, but after six months it finally looked 'lived in'. It was his own space, with his own stuff, and he was at least safe here. But would it ever be 'home'?

Varian pouted as he pulled his pet closer and buried his face in to Ruddiger's soft fur. The raccoon only purred in response.

He liked San Fansokyo. He enjoyed going to school and having friends. He loved being part of a family again. Especially such a loving and accepting one.... but as wonderful as things were here, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was all temporary. That everything would be ripped away from all over again. He knew that the rocks couldn't reach him here, but he wasn't as safe from Corona nor from his past as he once thought.

'What if everyone found out what I really was?' He thought. If they ever found out the truth, the extent of his misdeeds, would they still want him around? Where would he go then?

He had joked about buying land and building a castle for Honey Lemon, but would she ever agree to be with him if she knew how much of a monster he once was. Still was.....

He looked up and saw his reflection in the mirror on the opposite wall, hanging by his dresser. Large blue eyes stared back at him, sad and confused. His bangs hung low, threatening to cover his eyes. The sunrise slipping through the blinds of his window glinted against his hair streak, making it appear to glow. He still looked so much like the frightened little boy lost in the snow that he had been two years ago, especially in the soft morning light. The only subtle difference was that there was now a faint stubble on his chin from where he had shaved the other day.

"Knock, knock."

Aunt Cass's voice shattered his thoughts as she opened the door a crack.

"Morning, sleepyhead. I know it's still early, but grandma is already up and she's..."

The cheerful smile fell away when she noticed the tears streaks on his face.

"Oh sweetheart, what's wrong?"

She took a seat on the bed next to him and stroked his bangs out of his face.

"N-nothing." He lied.

Aunt Cass wasn't buying it. She continued sit there, waiting for him to open up.

He sighed. "I guess... I'm just... feeling a little homesick... th-that's all."

"Oh, sweetie." She wrapped him in a hug and kissed his forehead. Then she pulled away and lifted his chin to her. "Listen, I know you miss the harvest festivals that your village always held, but we're going to make this the best Thanksgiving ever. It'll be different than what you're used to, I'm sure, but it'll be no less fun, and I even got you a surprise for dinner."

She gave him a big smile, clearly proud of herself for whatever it was she had planned.

Varian couldn't help but return the smile himself.

"I'm the one helping you cook dinner. I'm going to see whatever it is you're hiding." He snickered.

"Oh I have my ways." She grinned. "Speaking of Thanksgiving. I need to drag the decorations out of the attic. Do you mind keeping grandma company for me?"

"No of course not." He said as he finally got out of bed, his fears banished from his mind for the time being.

----------------------

Hiro found Varian and Baba in the living room playing Gomoku together.

"Morning." He stretched and yawned. "Who's wining?"

"Varian is ahead so far, but Baba has a chance to catch up." The New Baymax stated helpfully.

"Gomoku is a strategy game that helps with memory and cognitive skills." The original Baymax added behind him.

"Will you buzz off?" Varian waved them away with faux annoyance. "You're distracting me."

He then made his move, "Ha! Only one more to go and no matter which way you block it, I can still complete the set! Cosa hai intenzione di fare al riguardo, Baba?" He bragged.

Grandma Hamada didn't answer. Instead her face lit up as she laid her piece down on the board and to Varian's surprise completed the needed five in a row in an area of the board he hadn't been paying enough attention to.

"Io vinco!" She clapped.

Hiro gently pushed a gobsmacked Varian out of his seat. "Come on. Get up. I get to play the winner."

He took the seat and placed the first piece down on the board. "O bāchan ni keikoku suru yo, kantan ni wa ikanai yo."

Baba chuckled and winked. "Soshite, watashi mo sō shimasen"

As Varian watched them play, Aunt Cass and Tadashi came down the stairs carrying boxes full of decorations.

"Who wants to help decorate!?" Aunt Cass sang out.

"I will." Varian volunteered.

"I'll help too, after I win." Hiro said, as he placed another piece down on the board.

Tadashi placed his box on the table and waked over to join them.

"I get the next game."

Aunt Cass pulled out a tablecloth with fall leaves printed on it, then she noticed the clock on the wall. "Oh! It's almost time for the parade. Someone turn the tv on."

"Parade?" Varian echoed as Tadashi picked up the remote and started flipping through the channels.

"The Macy's Day parade." Hiro answered without taking his eyes off the board. "They throw a huge parade in New York every year and the whole country watches it."

"This is Bluff Dunder, reporting live from New York City and man is it freezing! Brrr!" The news anchor announced. "We're standing at the front of the parade line waiting for the parade to start. In the meantime let's check out the Macy's square where the Radio City Hall Rockettes will be performing for us a 'Holiday Medley.'"

----------------------

The morning went by in a blur. After decorating and laying out the table set and silverware. The whole family pitched in with the rest of the cooking; rotating in and out of the kitchen as the parade played on in the background. Varian enjoyed the musical performances and he was impressed by the size of some of the balloons, but there were obviously things associated with the holiday that he didn't quite understand.

He didn't get the obsession with turkeys, even when there were other people on the tv who admitted to preferring to eat things like ham or brisket for their dinners instead. He also didn't fully understand the lore behind the holiday, and Tadashi said that it was mostly fake, anyways, or at least highly exaggerated at best. He also didn't understand all the Christmas stuff that was present. Christmas was a whole other month away.

After the parade was over and they were finishing up the last minute stuff, like warming up the rolls in the oven or reheating the potatoes that was prepared last night, Baba and her grandkids played a couple more rounds of gomoku. They also enjoyed chess and Varian taught everyone how to play Quartet.

"So it's basically 'Go Fish' but with extra cards." Hiro confirmed, and Varian couldn't argue with that assessment as he didn't know what 'Go Fish' was.

"Dinner's ready!" Aunt Cass called out. Varian and Tadashi rushed over to help her with the heavy turkey she was carrying and placed it in the center of the table. Varian had to admit that it was an impressively large bird. Not even geese grew that big, and he'd eaten more of his share of goose in his time. He was beginning to understand Americans' love of the traditional entrée. You could feed a huge family with such a fowl and still have leftovers.

Next came the sides; candied yams, mashed potatoes, gravy, hot buttery yeast rolls, Varian's sautéed green beans with mushrooms and caramelized onions, and instead of mac and cheese, Aunt Cass had made a cheesy ramen dish. Best of all however was the surprise apple-cranberry sauce that she had made in advance, and canned as a jelly.

For dessert there was chocolate pecan pie, as a compromise between her and Tadashi, pumpkin cheesecake, which Hiro said was even better than just a regular pie, and as a special treat, Baba had made her favorite fall dessert, persimmon pudding.

Aunt Cass and Tadashi took each seat at the head of the table. Varian and Baba sat on one side and opposite to them sat Hiro and the two Baymaxs. In the corner was a designated space for the pets. Mochi got a special turkey flavored wet canned food, as opposed to his usual dry catfood. Ruddiger was allowed some whip cream in a bowl, and Tadashi had brought Lorenzo up in his special mobile tank.

"Gotcha some fancy fish food for ya buddy." He said as he sprinkled the fish flakes into the tank.

Once everyone was settled, Tadashi stood up to carve the turkey.

"Now first things first, before I cut into this bird we gotta go around and tell everyone what we're thankful for."

"Another tradition?" Varian asked.

"Yeah, hence the name, Thanksgiving." Aunt Cass smiled. "I'll go first. I'm thankful that we were able to celebrate this year with everyone present. We all love having you here Baba. We wished you could visit more."

The new Baymax translated for her and Baba gave Cass a huge smile.

"I'll go next." Hiro said. "I'm thankful for my brothers. Last year it was just me, Aunt Cass and Baymax, and I'm really glad that this year that's not the case."

Tadashi thought for a moment, trying to think of a response; "Well... I'm thankful that both my brothers are a couple of insufferable super geniuses that are too stubborn to give up anything. Especially myself. Baymaxs? Are you thankful for anything?"

"I am thankful that everyone is safe and in good health." Both robots said simultaneously.

"Baba?"

"Oishi-sōna o ryōri o itsumo arigatōgozaimasu! Soshite, kyasu obasan, kon'nani sutekina shokuji o tsukutte kurete arigatō!"

“She says she’s thankful for what a great cook you are, and for such a wonderful meal,” Tadashi translated for her, and Aunt Cass expressed her gratitude for the sentiment.

That was when Ruddiger tried to steal a persimmon off of Baba's plate.

"Hey! Stop that!" Varian scolded and snatched the raccoon up, but not before the mischievous pet had grabbed the fruit anyways.

Instead of being angry, Baba only laughed. She gently tapped the creature's nose, said in a mock scolding manner. "Uh-nuh-uh. Naughty Tanuki!"

The raccoon happily munched upon his stolen reward in response.

"What about you, Ruddiger? What are you thankful for?" Tadashi asked, a smile playing his lips.

Ruddiger held up the persimmon high with one paw and pointed at it with his other paw in answer.

Tadashi blinked in surprise.

"H-how is it that you can train him to do that on command but not to break into the food pantry?"

Varian shrugged. "Cause I don't train him. He just does what he wants. Anyways, he says he's grateful for the food as well Aunt Cass."

Aunt Cass fought hard not to roll her eyes. "He should be. He ate like half of the pudding before we could stop him."

Hiro fought hard to suppress a giggle, and turned back towards the rest of the pets. "What about you Mochi? Are you thankful for anything?"

The cat only meowed blankly.

"Alright, Lorenzo, let's show-up the trash pandas here. Tell everyone how thankful you are for being apart if the family."

The mobile tank spun around in a circle, though the lobster showed no other change in emotion.

"See? Lorenzo can do tricks too." He smugly smiled, before Hiro stood up and removed his baseball hat revealing a neurotransmitter band underneath.

"Nice try but I saw you working on building that the other night." Hiro said.

"Hey. I'm telling you need to get a patent on it, no telling what unscrupulous characters could use this for their own nefarious ends." Tadashi mocked.

This only elected more laughter from gathered party.

"Wait, we almost forgot..." Aunt Cass fought back her laughter. "Varian? What about you sweetie?"

Varian turned to look at everyone present one by one, as he thought about the question seriously. Aunt Cass's loving care. Hiro's support and belief in him, no matter how many times he had screwed up. Baymax's comforting and helpful advice. Tadashi's protective nature and good humor. And now there was Baba, and her grandmotherly doting and calm patience. Varian's heart swelled and tears threatened to form. What would describe this much warmth and love?

He cast his eyes around the house. It was so different from everything he had ever known, and yet it was every bit as wonderful and precious as his village, and the people before him now were as much his family as his own father.

"I'm... thankful to be home." He slowly said, a content smile forming on his face.

"I say three cheers, for that," Tadashi proclaimed as he picked up the carving knife and fork once more, "and now let's eat!"

----------------------

Dinner was amazing. Everyone had their fill of turkey, stuffing, and gravy. Varian was so full he could barely move. It didn't stop him from trying Baba's persimmon pudding though.

As he polished off the last bite, and let Ruddiger lick his dish clean, Tadashi stood up quite suddenly as he looked at his watch.

"The game's on!" He yelled and then ran back towards the living room.

"Which game are we playing?" Varian asked confused.

"He means the football game on the tv." Hiro explained as they followed him.

Varian stood there for a moment as his brothers plopped on the couch and turned on the tv.

He watched the coin toss and the first kickoff, but was soon lost as to what was going on. Two teams kept running into one another trying to grab an oval ball. When someone got ahold of the ball they started to run towards one of the end goals on the field. But Varian didn't think this was a desirable outcome as everyone would chase after the person with the ball and try to dog pile them.

Hiro and Tadashi would cheer or boo depending upon which team got tackled or not. They were rooting for the ones wearing red, as opposed to the blue team, but Varian couldn't see what the difference was between them.

Finally, he gave up trying to understand the sport and went back to help Aunt Cass and Baba clean up from the dinner.

"I'm going to make turkey udon noodle soup out of the leftovers tomorrow." Aunt Cass said as she put the last of the meat into tupperware containers and placed them in the fridge.

"Ashita wa nokorimono de shichimenchō udon o tsukurimasu." One of the Baymax's translated for Baba. Varian had long ago given up trying to tell the two apart.

"E la mattina preparo i maritozzi per colazione." Varian told her in Italian.

"What's that?" Aunt Cass asked him.

"Maritozzi? It's a sweet roll with whipped cream, and we got plenty of coffee to go with it too."

Baba looked thrilled at the sound of both dishes.

The kitchen was cleaned up and the table cleared in no time. Aunt Cass left out some desert and a couple of snacks on the table in case anyone got hungry later. Though she had to shoo Ruddiger away from the roasted peanuts, every now and then.

Everyone reconvened back in the living room where the game was still on.

Aunt Cass and Baba sat in the recliners, as they chatted over coffee. Baymax, or one of them at least, translating for them.

Varian joined his brothers on the couch, but instead of paying attention to the game he pulled out his cellphone.

He chatted with everyone; sharing with them greetings of the season. Most of his friends texted him pictures of their holiday celebrations. Wasabi and his parents were having a traditional turkey dinner. Sam was with him and met Wasabi's parents for the first time. In Trina's family, Carl was the only one that needed to eat, so thay had pitched in together to fix him the best turkey club sandwich ever. Honey's Lemon's family were having a grill out with beef and tacos. While Gogo sent him a picture of 'kung pao turkey' with noodles. The Cruzs were having baked ham, according to Megan. Karmi sent him a picture of a mouthwatering chicken curry dish with rice. Finally Fred was in New York visiting relatives and they were having pizza!

Varian guessed everyone everywhere had their own harvest festival traditions.

"I'll see you Monday at school." Honey Lemon finished texting him.

"Can't wait." He texted back with a cute heart eyed emoji.

She sent him an image of a puppy dog holding a paper heart in return.

Varian wasn't entirely sure what that meant, if it meant anything at all. Cellphones somehow made courtship even more cryptic than it already was.

Still, he couldn't wipe the smile from his face as he closed out the chat. This had been a near perfect day. He was surrounded by family physically, and by friends in spirit. Everyone was safe. Everyone was happy. They were all well fed, and having a good time enjoying each other's company.

He did indeed have a lot to be thankful for. But most of all, he found himself feeling a little less homesick than before. Thanksgiving was no Goodwill Festival, but it didn't have to be. It was a wonderful harvest pageant all on its own.

'Dad's going to love this holiday.' he thought, right before Tadashi jumped up, shook Varian excitedly, and shouted.

"Woot! We won! 10 to 7! Take that Rams! Ha! San Fransokyo is still the best!"

Hiro joined him in his cheering, as they grunted a victory chant, and Baba clapped along from her chair.

----------------------

Hiro yawned as he stumbled downstairs the next morning. He found Varian already dressed and putting on a coat and scarf as he stood at the foot of the stairwell.

"What are you doing?"

"We're out of milk." Varian explained matter of factly. "I need to get some more to make the sweet rolls I promised Baba for breakfast."

He started to open the door, only for Hiro to rush towards him and slam the door close.

"Woah! Woah! Woah! You can not go out there!" Hiro warned as he blocked the entire doorway with his body. "It's Black Friday."

Varian looked at him as if he was talking in tongues.

"What is that? A curse?"

"No… well for some people it might be. Depends if you work in the service industry or not."

Varian rolled his eyes and waved his little brother away. "Look, grandma will be up at any moment so I'm just going to drive down to the corner store and…"

"And you may not come back alive." Hiro said as he shoved himself between Varian and the door once more.

"You're just trying to scare me for some prank. Now move." Varian tried to more firmly push Hiro out of the way, but Hiro remained resolute.

"I am trying to warn you! Okay? Black Friday is when everything goes on sale."

"Wonderful! Maybe the milk will be half off." Varian grunted as he physically picked Hiro up and deposited on the bottom stair out of the way.

"You don't understand. Everything is on sale. Everything! Everywhere!"

"Yeah, and what's the problem?" Varian asked as he opened the door.

"Everyone is going to be out there trying to get the sale."

"You're not out there."

"Yeah, because I have sense. I'm telling you Varian, it's a madhouse. You've never seen anything like it… are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, I'll be really crowded. Got it!" Varian replied before closing the door behind him.

----------------------

"Where's Varian?" Aunt Cass as she took a sip of her coffee. "I thought he was going to make breakfast this morning?"

"He went out to get milk." Hiro said as he took a bite of cereal.

"On Black Friday?"

"You did warn him about Black Friday, didn't you?" Tadashi asked as he sat across from Hiro.

"I tried too. He didn't listen."

Just then, they heard the door slam open and Varian loudly huffing and puffing as he made his way up the stairs.

"I… uh… I did it!" He shouted as he made it to the kitchen. His shirt was ripped, his hair disheveled, and his coat has footprints on it. He ignored everyone's concerned looks and held aloft a half gallon cartoon. "I have retrieved the milk!.... And I'm going to faint now."

He promptly fell forward, flat on his face.

Aunt Cass rushed forward. "Oh Varian, are you okay?"

"On a scale of one to ten; how would you rate your pain?" Baymax asked as he waddled over.

"I'm… I'm okay." Came Varian's muffled voice. "Here."

He held up the carton for someone to take it from him, but still remained lying face down while doing so.

Aunt Cass took it from him, but then read the label on the carton.

"Ummm… this says Eggnog."

Varian let out an indistinct whine.

----------------------

Everyone hugged Grandma goodbye as they stood in the airport once more.

"Bye, Baba. I would use the portal to send you home, but Chief Cruz says that would be illegal." Varian said as he gave the little old lady a tight squeeze. "Ciao, nonna."

Baba gently pinched his cheek as he let her go. "Fai il bravo."

Hiro was next. "I hope to see you soon grandma. O-genki de."

"Ki wo tsukete." Tadashi added. "I packed Baymax for you. Call me if you need help turning him on. Le ni kaettara denwa shite." He made a phone gesture with his hand as he repeated himself.

"Yarimasu, yarimasu." She reassured him.

"O bāchan, daisukidayo."

"`A~a, Tadashi-chan mo daisukida yo. Min'na daisukida yo. Baba ni mōichido hagu shite agete."

She spread her arms wide and encouraged her grandsons to give her a big group hug. All three of them. They didn't have to be asked twiced.

"Oh, it's 3:10. You better start boarding soon." Aunt Cass said, interrupting the moment. "Bye bye, see you soon!"

All four of them waved bye as Baba made her way to the plane, rolling her new robotic nurse, safely tucked in his charging case, behind her on wheels.

#varian #tangled #Hiro Hamada #big hero 6 #aunt cass #baymax #tadashi hamada #tangled the series #big hero 6 the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #BH6 the series #bh6 #rta #tts #ruddiger

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