About a week after the three hybrids came to stay with you, Jin was finally able to move on his own. He started helping in the kitchen, insisting that he do something to help out so that they weren’t just freeloading. He and Jimin were bouncing back and forth between different bedrooms, sort of testing the lighting and the space to see if they like it. Jungkook had found a room that he really liked and you guys had just finished painting it for him.
Jin generally collapsed on the couch, somehow always managing to over-work himself despite you trying to make sure he took it easy as he regained his strength.
All three boys were starting to fill out again. Jungkook was the fastest to recover, thought Jimin and Jin were progressing decently well, though Jin wasn’t recovering as fast since he kept overdoing it and had been in worse condition. It was something you were constantly on him about, but somehow he always managed to win the debates with a pleading smile.
He could do things to you with that smile.
Jimin got more and more playful the longer they were with you and feeling more at home. More comfortable. Jimin was also a cuddle-monster, often hugging whoever was in reach. He had a mischievous side that was used mostly with the boys, but he was starting to sometimes use it on you. He was sneaky, and managed to get away with a lot with his adorable grin and generally innocent demeanor. He liked to hide the car keys so that you wouldn’t leave (he didn’t understand why you needed to work), or would sneak into the car (in the trunk) when you went to get groceries.
As soon as you declared Jin healthy enough (a topic often debated lately) he would have a job working for your brother, which he was looking forward to.
But two weeks after they came to stay with you, you woke up from a nightmare to find it was past time to get up for the day. You got out of bed and shakily went into the kitchen, your heart still pounding. You wiped at your forehead, and realized you were coated in sweat.
All three hybrids stiffened and turned towards you.
Jungkook came rushing over, nose twitching as he kept sniffing the air. “What’s wrong? What happened? I’ll keep you safe!” He pulled you into a hug with a little bunny-growl.
You patted his back. “Thanks, Kookie, but it was just a nightmare.”
“Must have been a really bad one,” Jimin murmured making you a hot chocolate as well.
Jin just gave you a slightly concerned look. “I tried to wake you up earlier…”
You just nodded a little. It was the same nightmare you’d had since your parents died and you never woke up until it was done. The one time your brother had forced you awake you had screamed bloody-murder and were thrown into a panic attack. “Probably for the best. I don’t usually react well to being woken up from nightmares.”
Jungkook was hanging close to you. “You get them a lot?” He still sounded worried.
You shook your head. “No, Kookie. I don’t get them often. I think it’s just because of this Tuesday. By the way, my brother is going to be coming Monday night and stay all day Tuesday.”
Jin frowned a little. “What’s Tuesday?”
Jungkook could smell the sadness on you after you mentioned it, and his arms went around you tightly again.
Jimin’s tail was flicking in agitation and concern from where he was drying dishes.
You took a deep breath. “It’s the anniversary of my parents’ deaths. The anniversary of the accident.” You didn’t look at any of them, buttering your toast despite Jungkook holding you.
Next moment you were in the center of a group hug, sympathetic noises coming from your companions.
When they finally pulled away, you gave them a bit of a smile and quickly changed the subject. “So, today we’re going shopping for Jungkook’s room, right? And all three of you need new clothes.”
“You don’t need to spend money on us, y/n,” Jin said softly, looking embarrassed.
You rolled your eyes. “Please, for furniture we’re going to the barn on Micheal’s land where all the furniture I’ve rescued over the years is waiting for me to decide on a use for. We already have a mattress, so anything that we buy for his room won’t be strictly essential and there is a budget.”
The three boys were smiling at you as you spoke, reassured by your nonchalant attitude.
Then they stiffened.
“Y/n!” Your brother’s voice carried through the house and he sounded worried.
You frowned and headed toward the door. “Micheal?”
He hugged you quickly. “How old are they again?”
You took a moment, registering his worry and then that he was talking about your hybrids. “16, 18, and 23.”
“You need to head to a shelter and adopt those two as fast as you can, then. The law just changed last night, and I’m sure one of your neighbors will report you having them out of spite after the complaints we got while fixing this place up. I’ll drive. If they don’t let you adopt both, I’ll file for the other one. But we need to go, now.”
“I need a shower…”
“Make it quick. My buddy at the shelter is getting the papers ready for you and seeing if you can adopt both.”
You ran and got ready as quickly as you could, coming out and seeing that Jin had made sure the other two looked decent. “What about Jin?”
Micheal looked at the older hybrid. “He’s still technically free. But…they can’t work anymore.”
Your heart broke, freezing. “What? But…how are free hybrids supposed to live?”
He gave you a pained look. “I don’t know right now, y/n. I just know we need to protect these two. Let’s go.”
Jin hugged both boys and you quickly. “Go, I’ll be here when you get back. I’ll lay low until we know more.”
You nodded giving him another quick hug before racing out to the car with your brother.
“They need to be attached to leashes. I picked up three on my way over. There isn’t anything that says how, so I figure we can put them around their wrists. Is that okay, guys?” Micheal asked, looking in the rear-view mirror at the boys in the backseat.
They nodded, opening the packaging and helping each other with the leashes.
“I can’t believe this,” You murmured, looking out the window. “What are your workers doing?”
“They’re in a bit of shock. I set them up watching a movie in the living room. I wanted to get this taken care of. Then I want to bounce some ideas off of you. See what you think.”
You nodded, knowing how your brother’s mind worked. One problem at a time, problems that can be fixed first, then problems that need work.
You reached the shelter and the boys stuck close to the two of you as you went in.
Micheal’s friend, John, quickly brought them into the office. “You can adopt both of them. Given your financial status and your property as well as owning part of the company. But I need a favor, Micheal.”
Micheal nodded, jaw clenching slightly.
“I need you to adopt a couple of the hybrids we have here. I’m worried about them going to bad homes. I know you’re probably overwhelmed since your workers are with you, but she has space, right?” John looked like he was on the verge of begging.
You nodded, touching Micheal’s arm.
He looked at you, then at the two hybrids who looked a little relieved as you hastily signed the papers. “How many are we talking about and what kind?”
“Four…but it’s more important that the three get taken.”
“How many can I take?” You asked, not wanting to leave the fourth behind if you could really help it.
John’s gaze lit up. “After these two, one more.”
You looked at your two companions. “Is that okay?”
Jimin gave a soft purr, nuzzling his face into your shoulder, despite his anxiety at being in the shelter.
Jungkook nodded, ears down as he tried to block out the sounds from the rest of the shelter. He held onto Jimin’s arm, keeping him from attaching himself to you.
Micheal nodded. “Then let’s hurry.”
John led the way through the shelter to a different section that said that hybrids in this section were dangerous.
He noticed your worried looks and shook his head. “I put them in here last night when I heard about the voting on the bill.”
You nodded, not pressing further.
He led you four to a room and opened the door.
In there were four hybrids, all huddled together, but one of them jumped up starting to growl until he recognized John.
You glanced over them, getting an idea for the species present.
One appeared a little more monkey-ish, another had strange ears and could have been a dog or a cat but was probably something else, the third was a cat, and the fourth had ears like a wolf.
Jimin’s tail wrapped around your ankle as he looked at them over your shoulder, and Jungkook’s nose was twitching.
The wolf had been the one who jumped up protectively, but now he backed up slightly.
“They’re going to adopt you, take you somewhere safe. They’re good people,” John said in a soothing tone. “You’ll be safe and have more freedom than if others were to take you. This is the best I can do for you guys.”
The four warily came over.
You smiled gently. “I’m y/n. This is Jimin, and Jungkook. There’s one other at my house, a dog named Jin, but he’s over adoption age. This is my brother Micheal, he’s adopting three of you so we can get you out of here.”
The monkey perked up a bit.
The wolf made a soft sound. “We’ll see each other?”
“Actually, for now you’ll be staying with y/n. I had some hybrids that worked for me that are staying with me now that the bill has passed, and it’s a little cramped. Besides, she’s better at taking care of others.” Micheal rested a protective hand on your shoulder. “So you’ll all be together.”
The one with strange ears and tail (black and white, but not like a skunk, the ears were too big and triangular) stepped forward. “Will we be able to play outside?”
All of them looked at you with anticipation and hope.
You smiled. “Of course. I have a huge yard.”
“It’s great,” Jungkook added softly, then sort of hid behind you a little more.
Jimin smiled at the other boys. “She’s a really good cook, too. And there are plenty of rooms, right, y/n?”
You nodded, grinning at the boy.
The other cat eyed them warily, then grunted. “We should hurry and get out of here then.”
John gave a sigh of relief and pulled out the papers. “Does it matter which one you adopt, y/n?”
You shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me. Do any of you have a preference?” You asked both your boys and the others.
Jimin and Jungkook sort of shrugged a little, Jungkook murmuring something about Jin that you couldn’t make out.
The other boys were talking with each other in hushed tones, and though you couldn’t hear, you knew your boys could.
Jimin made a sympathetic sound.
Finally, the strange one stepped forward. “Me.”
You glanced at the others and realized that they had decided it together, and nodded. You signed the papers John handed you.
Jimin had the third leash from the car for some reason, and he pulled it out while you were signing papers. “It’s just so we don’t get in trouble,” He told the strange one gently, then carefully wrapped the leash around the other boy’s wrist instead of attaching it to the collar around the other boy’s neck.
The strange one—damn, why didn’t you look at the papers?—looked surprised at the leash Jimin was tying to his wrist, his other hand going to the collar in astonishment.
Then Jimin straighted abruptly and looked at you with alarm. “Does this mean I can’t go grocery shopping with you?!”
You looked at Micheal, unsure.
His gaze was troubled, but he shrugged to say he didn’t know.
You sighed. “We’ll find out, Jimin-ah.”
Jimin pouted, obviously resisting the urge to whine as he dropped the leash attached to the other boy’s wrist and came back over to cling to you.
“Alright, papers are all set. Here are some leashes for the other three so you don’t have trouble. Boys, please…please try and make this work. If you come back here…” John looked worried.
The four hybrids nodded, thanking him softly for taking such good care of them, then followed you all out to the car.
You winced as you looked at the sedan. “It’s…going to be a bit of a tight fit.”
“I’ll ride in the trunk,” Jimin offered. “It’s spacious enough and I have a blanket and pillow in there from sneaking to the store with you.”
You shook your head. “Don’t ever tell others about that, Jimin-ah. I could get in a lot of trouble, even if I didn’t know.”
He nodded again, but still gestured toward the trunk.
Your brother popped the trunk, then shrugged at you when you glared at him. “Do you have a better idea?”
Jimin hopped in and shimmied into the blankets and pillow he had, smiling cheerfully.
Jungkook rolled his eyes. “Move over.” He climbed in as well, worrying you.
Your brother closed the trunk after the boys were situated, then gestured for the other four hybrids to squish into the back seat. “It’s not too long of a ride. It’ll be fine, y/n.”
You shot him another worried glare and got into the front seat, moving it up as far as you could to give them some room.
It was quiet during the trip home. The monkey fidgeted a bit, and the strange one hummed intermittently, but otherwise the four new hybrids didn’t move or make a peep.
Once you got to the house, you hurried out to pull the two boys out of the trunk, making sure they were okay.
It seemed to amuse them that you were worried about them, causing Jimin to—of course—drape himself over your back.
Jungkook hurried toward the front door.
Jin was already coming out, his worried gaze fading when he saw both boys, and you, okay. Then the worry came back full-force when he saw the four newcomers. “Y/n?”
“They’re staying with us for a while, Jin.” You placed a placating hand on his arm as he seemed to be wary and getting protective. “Micheal’s friend asked us to take them so that they would be safe. Which meant that I adopted one of them and my brother adopted the other three.”
Jin nodded slowly, but he still looked tense.
Micheal cleared his throat. “Let’s get inside. I still need to talk to you.”
You nodded, giving the newcomers a friendly smile. “Come on in. We’ll get you settled in later. Sorry I didn’t ask earlier, but what are your names?”
“Yoongi,” The cat hybrid almost growled, obviously uncomfortable, but taking the plunge and following inside with the other three sticking close. “Wolf is Namjoon, capuchin is Teahyung, and the fox is Hoseok.”
You nodded, a little surprised at Hoseok being a fox, but storing it for later information, glad that you found out his name. “Alright, so this is the house. You can go just about anywhere, but that bedroom over there, which is mine, and there’s a room upstairs that’s Jungkooks. These two haven’t claimed a room yet.”
They eyed the place warily, as if expecting something bad to happen any second.
Micheal grabbed the bottle of vodka from the super-high cupboard and poured himself a glass before putting the bottle back and tossing the drink back.
You froze, noticing how tense all the hybrids got at the smell of the vodka. You knew it was bad when Micheal drank. “Let’s talk in my room?”
He nodded, rinsing out the glass and setting it in the sink.
You stopped and gave the three boys a pointed glare. “Don’t eavesdrop, boys. I mean it. I won’t make cookies for two weeks.”
Jungkook frowned. “Why can’t we hear?”
Jin swatted his head. “You heard her. I’ll keep them away, y/n. Do what you need to. Get your fluffy butt in the kitchen and help me make lunch. Jimin, don’t you go slinking off upstairs to listen either. Sit down.”
Both of the younger boys pouted, but murmured “Yes, hyung” and did as they were told.
You closed the door and went to sit next to your brother. “Alright, I’m listening.”
“I know this sounds terrible, but I think we can use the change in the law to create a place for hybrids while keeping profit going. We’re no good to them if we run out of money. I think maybe I can keep the workers and just use what they would be making to pay for housing and groceries. It would mean they couldn’t work as much, because the government would be watching to make sure I don’t work them harder than the housing and food would cost. But…”
You nodded slowly. “Using that that you got in the auction?”
He nodded. “But…would it really be better? I mean, it could end up putting us under a lot of scrutiny.”
“But it could help a lot of hybrids.”
“We might get overrun with them.”
“Which just allows us to expand the workforce and use the increased income from production to help the new ones. Or we could repurpose that apartment building, where the owners went bankrupt and we halted the construction to make housing for your hybrid workers. The place is big enough where it could be their own little community…”
He tilted his head, following your thinking. “We’d lose less money initially and there’s more than enough space. But we’d still have to have some sort of legal funding.”
“Use my money,” You told him.
His eyes widened. “Y/n, no. That’s for the house, that’s for your wedding, for you!”
“I have other savings. I’ve seen the estimates of what finishing the buildings would cost and I have the financial stability to pay for it. I’ll just be a little more frugal until I can replenish the account.” You shrugged, folding your arms. “Besides, I don’t need an extravagant wedding, and it’s not anywhere in the near future.”
Micheal was quiet for a while. “You’re sure?”
“Positive,” You replied, hugging him.
He nodded slowly. “I’ll talk to a few people and draw up an official plan. I’ll call you when I need you to come in and look at everything. I need to get home and check on the others.” He stood up, then gently smoothed your hair. “About Tuesday…”
“I know. Why don’t we just meet for breakfast?”
He kissed your forehead. “Love you, sis.”
“Love you too.” You followed him out of the room, waving to him as he headed toward the door.
He paused and gave the hybrids a look, then fixed his gaze on Jin. “If—”
Jin nodded before he could finish. “I know.”
Micheal nodded sharply and left.
You sighed, feeling a little better now that there was a plan to help hybrids like Jin.
Jimin hugged you. “What now, y/n?”
“Now we eat lunch. Will you two go out and harvest what’s ripe in the garden?” You asked him and Jungkook.
He nodded with a smile and grabbed the baskets before darting after Jungkook, both of them releasing the pent up energy from the hectic morning.
Jin looked at you. “So?”
You knew what he was asking. “It was work-related. With a quarter of the workers not being able to be paid we needed a solution that would help them. We think we have one.”
“And?” Jin asked.
You glanced at the new hybrids, who were listening with cautious curiosity. “I’m funding the construction to finish a project that was abandoned halfway through to become housing for any workers at the company as a different sort of payment. They can’t be paid money, but they can work for food and shelter. If we create a sort of community just for them where they can just get whatever food they need based on the work that they’ve done or their familial needs, then…” You shrugged. “They still have some freedom, and there won’t be a bunch of hybrids that didn’t get adopted starving on the streets because they couldn’t pay for food.”
“You’re using your own money?” Jin asked, eyes widening.
You shrugged. “I have enough, I know the numbers. I ran the numbers. I’m just going to be a little more frugal for a while.” You got out the rice.
It was really quiet, but you didn’t dare look up.
Jin’s hand went over your own when you went to open the container. He pulled it and turned you so that he could hug you.
You were a little confused by the hug, but you hugged him back anyway. “What’s this for?”
“For being the most selfless person I’ve ever met.”
You scoffed lightly. “Pretty sure that’s you, Jin.”
He just hugged you more tightly. “You helped us, now you’re helping other hybrids…”
You gently pushed away to smile at him. “Jin, don’t worry about me.”
He gave you a sad look that protested slightly.
You shook your head. “I’m serious. I’m just being more frugal so that I can replenish my accounts after paying for the construction to continue helping others. And frankly…if we manage to do this, it’s going to be one of few places where hybrids can live and work. There are a lot of hybrids out there that are about to get desperate…if I can save some of them from that, I want to try.”
Jin nodded slowly. “It’s going to get dangerous in town. It could get dangerous here.”
You pursed your lips. “We’ll worry about that later.”
“There was a watermelon ripe!” Jungkook came bounding in with it in his arms.
You instantly grinned at him. “That’s great!”
Jimin followed lugging both baskets, which didn’t exactly look light. He set them both down, rolling his eyes. “Thanks for the help, Jungkook.”
“Oh, sorry hyung. I’ll go pick the rest,” He grabbed the basket that they had left and bounded back out.
You set the watermelon aside, smiling softly as you looked over the pickings, then turned to the new hybrids. “Are there any foods that you dislike?”
Their expressions were softer, more relaxed.
Hoseok was sniffing the air and looking curiously at the baskets of vegetables and fruits. He’d been cautiously looking around the house, sort of straying from the group to look at pictures or artwork.
Namjoon shook his head. “We have slight preferences from our hybrid types, but mostly we eat anything.”
You nodded. “Alright, well, most of the time you can have just about anything you find in the cupboards and fridge. Desserts are limited because they are more expensive and not as healthy. Leftovers are free for the taking and first-come-first-serve. Jin is in charge when I’m not around. As I said before, my room is off-limits unless otherwise stated. Oh, you don’t need those collars here.” You noticed they were still wearing the nasty, nylon-plastic collars from the shelter.
Taehyung decided he was brave enough to approach you. He tugged at the collar a bit. “We can’t take them off ourselves.”
You looked and realized they were the kind that shocked any hybrid that tried to remove the collar. “Oh, here.” You moved forward and carefully undid the collar, pulling it off once it wasn’t closed anymore. You hated those things. If collars have to be used, then why not at least use ones that wouldn’t tear and irritate their skin?
It looked like he’d had it on for ages, his skin red and scabbed, chaffed in some places.
You realized all of them would probably have irritated and damaged skin. “Jimin, go get the green bottle of lotion from my bathroom. That should help this feel a little better. All of you will probably need it.” You moved over to Hoseok, holding out your hand to see if he’d let you close enough to undo the collar.
He smiled softly and bent slightly so you could reach it more easily, his ears flicking slightly.
Namjoon stayed sitting, just lifting his chin slightly when you went to undo his.
Yoongi kept a wary eye on you, but otherwise let you take it off without a word.
Jimin had found the bottle and was helping Taehyung apply it to his neck.
Hoseok tested it in a spot then nodded to the other two and all three of them applied it as well.
Jin rested a hand on your shoulder. “They’ll learn to trust you.”
You smiled at him. “I just want them to be happy. They don’t need to trust me to do that.”
“No, but they’ll be happier for it.” He replied, regarding you with such a soft look that it made your heart skip a beat. “I know I am.”
You held his gaze. “I’m gonna need your help. Six boys, four of which who might not trust me yet…”
His shoulders seemed to broaden and his back straightened. “I’d love to help.”
