Archive of Our Own ^beta

Jeongguk was cold. 

This cold hit him with a bone-aching intensity, one that had him pausing in the middle of the busy sidewalk to clutch at his chest in panic. He had thought he'd known cold before, after nearly a century alone. Of course, not literally — what with his dragon heart constantly pumping heat through his body. 

But if Jeongguk could use one word to describe loneliness, it was that.

It was cold.

It was stiff fingers and empty apartments. It was eating dinner alone. It was dust, on you, everywhere. It was a cold Jeongguk had gotten used to, one that lived in the gaps between his fingers, in the space beside him in bed. 

But this — this. This cold was different. This cold was real. And as much as the chill of loneliness hurt, this time, Jeongguk knew the cold was fatal.

Pedestrians bustled around him in the impatient manner only city people had. As if life was chasing them instead of the other way around. A few got so close they bumped into his shoulders, but Jeongguk didn't have the energy to move off to the side. With his vision blurring, Jeongguk felt a violent tremor wrack through his spine once, twice. Falling to his knees, Jeongguk couldn't hear the commotion around him. He couldn't feel the sudden hand between his shoulder blades, the concerned voice at his ear.

All he could do was squeeze his eyes shut, and pray that death would be a much less lonely endeavor than living.

☀

In a world full of magical creatures, dragons were nothing more than a crazed, violent myth. They were the boogey monsters parents scared their children with. They were the enemies in every history textbook. They were hot-blooded, ruthless murderers.

And some days, Jeongguk would believe it. He'd believe he was capable of murder, of anger so destructive that he could raze the entirety of Seoul to the ground and feel no remorse. After all, wasn't he justified in his anger? They had killed off his entire species. His family.

But on the days that he'd try, where he'd stand on the rooftop of his apartment building and collect fire in the back of his throat, all of that anger would just dissipate into grief. Nothing more than smoke would coil from his mouth, harmless as a passing cloud in the sky. It would rise up and disappear into the air, and Jeongguk could only tip his head back and wonder how it felt, to be that light. 

In a world full of magical creatures, dragons were only remembered by the ghost of their wrongdoings. So after his parents and hyung were killed, Jeongguk hid himself away. Until one day he walked past a newspaper stand, the headlines celebrating the official extinction of dragons. Jeongguk had blinked, and stared at the newspaper for so long that the merchant had snapped at him to either pay for it or leave. 

So, he left.

And continued doing the only thing he knew how to do, which was curl his dragon form up inside of him like a second heart — and hide.

☀

Jeongguk woke with a shiver. He kept his eyes shut, still drowzy, and instinctively he moved his arm and slid it under his pillow, expecting the touch of cold metal. But all he felt was soft, silken sheets.

Panicked, Jeongguk sat straight up, hands searching. His hoard was gone. Jeongguk always stashed some things away under his pillow — little necklaces, tiny gems, small figurines. It wasn't his entire hoard, of course, but his dragon possessively needed some of his hoard close to him, even as he slept. Flipping the pillow away, Jeongguk let out a tiny chirp of distress when he couldn't find any of his preferred items there. 

His necklace with the rubied chain, the bunny figurine, the torn-out page of a poetry book — they were his, the only things he had, and they were gone. It took the bedroom door opening for Jeongguk to realize that he wasn't home. His hoard wasn't there because this wasn't his bed.

Fear so poignant and familiar had him scrambling, pushing himself off the bed with a painful thud and shoving himself into the corner. A man, tall with broad shoulders, took one step into the room. Instinctively, Jeongguk shoved himself further back, the hard wall pressing against his spine. 

But then — something in him snapped. Something in him remembered that night, when he was just a fledgling. He remembered how his brother had picked him up and all but tossed him into his closet. How he had curled up in the dark while his family was killed. How he'd sat there for days and days, too afraid and traumatized to come out.

And Jeongguk — he wouldn't do that again. So as much as he wanted to push his head in-between his knees and hide, Jeongguk stood and ran. He ran right into the man who'd entered the room, who'd captured him, who he was sure had every intent to kill him. 

Jeongguk snapped his teeth, snarling right in the man's face. With a strength that surprised Jeongguk, the man pushed back, leaning forward to grasp both of Jeongguk's wrists in one hand and restraining them. The man brought his other hand up, and Jeongguk flinched, expecting a blow hard enough that would knock some of his teeth out.

Instead, there were soft fingers tracing the lines of his cheek. They were gentle, reverent, like fingertips on ivory piano keys. Jeongguk's eyes flew open at the unexpected touch. The stranger stared back at him, and to Jeongguk's surprise, the man's eyes were watery.

"You poor thing," the man whispered, cupping the entirety of his palm against Jeongguk's cheek now. "You must've been lonely, right? It must've been hard." 

"Wh-what?" Jeongguk croaked out, no longer struggling, completely perplexed as the fight drained out of him.

His wrists burned where the man was still holding him. Jeongguk hadn't been touched in decades, not like this. Not skin to skin. Not anything past a bump in the metro, or the brush of a cashier's hand giving back change. And despite his fear, a desperate part of him wanted to lean into this man's chest and shut his eyes. Relish in the contact for just one second.

Jeongguk thought to himself, if this man was really out to kill him, perhaps it'd be the sweetest way to go. Standing there, with the warmth of his hands on Jeongguk's skin. The pad of the man's thumb swept once under Jeongguk's eye.

"If you're going to kill me," Jeongguk croaked out. "Please...just do it fast." 

The man blinked at him in shock. Then his face hardened into something powerful, dangerous.

"Little fledgling, if anybody ever tried to harm you, I would burn this city to the ground." 

Then, with a blink, the man revealed his true eyes — golden, with slitted, vertical pupils. Eyes that looked exactly like Jeongguk's. The eyes of a species long-extinct.

And after a century of cold, of dust collecting on his skin, on his scales, on his history — the warmth of that gaze burned through Jeongguk, and it felt like elation. 

It felt like home.

Since the near-extinction of his species, Jeongguk dreamt like lovers do. 

With a yearning so irrevocable that he lost his breath. He dreamt of nothing more than simple pleasures, of a hand in his, of a smile directed just at him. And there were times, in that liminal space between sleep and consciousness, where Jeongguk would believe that it was real. Where he'd forget, for a blissful moment, that he had no one — he hardly even had himself, with how much he suppressed his dragon in fear of being caught.

Now, looking into a pool of gold, Jeongguk didn't allow himself to believe that it was real. It was impossible. It was cruel. 

Shaking his head, Jeongguk pushed away from the stranger with the familiar eyes. The man let him go, brow furrowing when Jeongguk fell to his knees.

"Stop," the word escaped Jeongguk's chest in a ragged breath.

The man sank to his knees and reached out again, but Jeongguk smacked him away.

"Just kill me already," Jeongguk realized that he was sobbing, tears dripping hot and steady onto his pants.

"You — you don't have to be so cruel," he continued, feeling like he was rattling apart from grief. "You don't have to make me believe that — that you're one of mine." 

When the man didn't say anything, Jeongguk looked up again, and once again met his draconic eyes.

There was no way they could be real. There was no way that Jeongguk had spent so long alone, only to suddenly...not be. 

"Stop!" Jeongguk shouted again, the anger coming back in waves. 

He reached out for the man's face, fingers clawed, but the man didn't flinch. He let Jeongguk scratch at the skin against his temples, pull at his hair. Still, his eyes did not change.

They were gold. They were gold, like home, like sunrise, like city lights, like Christmas songs, like every single one of Jeongguk's dreams piled on top of each other in honeyed layers. 

They were gold, just like Jeongguk's.

"I'm not going to hurt you," the man whispered. His voice ached with a tenderness Jeongguk hadn't heard in lifetimes. "I promise. I promise." 

"Where have you been?" Jeongguk cried, chest wracking. "If you're really a dragon too, where have you been?"

And he knew it was unfair. If this man was truly one of his kind, he must have been hiding as well. The man could ask Jeongguk the same thing.  Instead of answering, the man used his sleeve to wipe at the blood dripping down his cheek from where Jeongguk scratched him.

Quietly, the man asked, "Can I hold you?"

And despite himself, Jeongguk launched himself forward, a whimper pitching high from the back of his throat. It was a sound he hadn't made since he was a hatchling, one that asked for comfort, for safety. On another day, Jeongguk would be embarrassed at the vulnerable sound, but today it didn't matter. Because today there was a returning rumble, one that started deep in the man's chest, a draconic sound of affection. Warm arms pulled him up into a sturdy lap, and Jeongguk clung. He wrapped his arms around the other dragon's neck and squeezed, digging his face into the man's collarbones, nuzzling his nose against warm skin.

"You can call me Seokjin hyung," Jeongguk heard, feeling the vibrations of the man's voice against his cheek.

"Seokjin hyung," Jeongguk repeated. 

He held onto the name like a prayer, mouthed it over and over again. If this was a dream, he didn't want to forget it. 

Seokjin ran a steady hand up and down Jeongguk's back, and Jeongguk shuddered at the touch, leaning into it. Seokjin kept up the steady, soothing rumble, not caring even as Jeongguk's tears soaked into his shirt. With the adrenaline draining out of his body, Jeongguk was beginning to feel more and more ill. Cold crept back into his bones little by little, and he began shivering.

"You're freezing," Seokjin murmured, reaching up towards the bed to drag the duvet down, wrapping it tightly around Jeongguk's body. 

Still in a state of disbelief, Jeongguk pulled back to stare at Jin's face once more. At the sight of the blood, guilt pooled into his stomach.

"'M sorry," he whispered. "I...I hurt you." 

Seokjin smiled gently, running a hand through Jeongguk's hair. "And I about scared you half to death. I think we're even, little one." 

When the door was suddenly pushed open again, Jeongguk scrambled, shoving his face into Seokjin's neck. Feeling overwhelmed, Jeongguk went so far as to yank the duvet entirely over his head, relishing in the dark warmth and the steady thud of Seokjin's heartbeats. 

"Seokjin hyung? Is everything okay?" 

"We're okay," Seokjin wrapped his arms around Jeongguk again, hugging him tight. "Little fledgling was understandably overwhelmed, and he's still ill. Would you mind bringing hyung a glass of water, Jimin?" 

"Of course." 

Jeongguk sat in his little cocoon, tense as he didn't hear the pitter-patter of feet walking away from the door. But then the soft voice was right next to them again, making Jeongguk jump.

"Here you go." 

A hand pulled the duvet away from his head, and Seokjin laughed a fond little laugh when Jeongguk instinctively bared his teeth at him.

"Drink some water and you can go back to hiding."

Eyes wandering over to the newcomer called Jimin, Jeongguk blinked at the sheer glow the other gave off. The wings fluttering against Jimin's back explained his lack of footsteps, the fae's face alit with curiosity as he stared back at Jeongguk. 

Jeongguk blinked at him. Jimin blinked back. 

An almost constipated expression passed over the fae's features, and Jimin squeezed his hands open and closed into little fists like he wanted to squeeze something.

"He's so cute, hyung!" Jimin squealed, making Jeongguk jump. "Is Jin hyung giving you the best snuggles?"

Scowling, Jeongguk burrowed deeper into Seokjin. "I'm not a baby." 

Jimin's expression turned to one of shock, and then he threw his head back and laughed. His laugh was outrageous in the best way, seeming to fill up his whole body. Jimin's wings fluttered rapidly against his back and he tipped to the side as if his happiness had pushed him off-balance, his eyes crinkled up into little crescent moons.

Jeongguk hasn't seen anyone laugh like that in a long time.

"We're all Jin hyung's babies," Jimin whispered to him, like he was sharing a secret. "Have some water?" 

He held out the cup to Jeongguk, tipping it right against the dragon's lips for him. Jeongguk blinked at Jimin as he drank, still wary. It was one thing, Seokjin knowing he was a dragon. Past the shock of discovering that he wasn't alone, not anymore, Jeongguk was secure in his belief that Seokjin wouldn't drag him away to the many people in the world who would pay a pretty penny for a dragon.

But Jimin was so clearly not a dragon. So Jeongguk didn't trust him, not at all. 

When he finished his water, Jimin beamed at him again, and despite his reservations, Jeongguk found himself relaxing at the smile. There was something so innately kind about Jimin. He looked like sunlight on wishing fountains, like brightness and hope and joy. Jeongguk's eyes drifted down to Jimin's hands, and he stared at the rings adorning every single one of the fae's fingers.

Seokjin nuzzled his jaw onto the top of Jeongguk's head. "Don't worry, Jiminie's part of my weyr. He won't hurt you." 

Jeongguk sucked in a breath at the old dragon's word for 'family'. He hadn't heard that word spoken out loud since his parents were still alive.

"Of course I wouldn't," Jimin sniffed. "I think you're extremely cute."

Jeongguk flushed, feeling shy. He'd heard that fae were overwhelmingly truthful, almost to a fault, and Jimin's open expressions made him feel like a fruit peeled open, vulnerable and sweet.

"Am I dreaming?" he murmured. 

To think that less than 24 hours ago he had been alone in his dark apartment — it was hard to believe that what was happening right now was real. 

Seokjin's chest began rumbling again, soothing Jeongguk to half-sleep.

"You're not, precious," Seokjin said. "We'll be right here when you wake up again."

"I'm cold," Jeongguk slurred, his eyes fighting slumber. "We're not..we're not supposed to feel cold." 

Seokjin's arms tightened around him, and the lines around Jimin's eyes creased with worry.

"We'll get you better," Seokjin replied. "I promise." 

Jeongguk didn't respond, just let his gaze drift down to Jimin's hands again. The rings were pretty. Jeongguk would love to have one to stash under his pillow. They were bright and ornate, just like the fae. His eyes slipped shut, and he felt the duvet tucked around him more securely. 

Jimin's questioning voice rang through the room, but all Jeongguk could hear was the rumble in Seokjin's chest, the steady beats of his heart. Jeongguk hoped with every desperate and painful piece of him that if this were a dream, he'd never wake up. The last thing he felt before falling asleep was someone taking his hand, squeezing it lightly, before warm metal was slipped onto one of his fingers.

Hand clenching into a protective fist, Jeongguk slept, hurtling like a falling star. He didn't know if he'd survive it this time, the fear that there'd be nobody at the bottom to catch him. There never was. He'd be a fool if he thought this time would be any different. 

☀

This time, when Jeongguk woke, there was no fear. Just a broad chest under his cheek and a hand running soothing circles up and down his back. Seokjin hadn't let go of him, apparently — he hadn't even gotten off of the floor. He was still cradling Jeongguk closely, gently. Jeongguk was sure the other dragon's legs must be asleep or cramping by now, but Seokjin didn't complain. The way he held Jeongguk was secure, as if he didn't want to let go.

The blanket was pulled over Jeongguk's head, so Seokjin didn't know he was awake yet. Jeongguk took the time to move one hand and pulled the newfound ring off of his pointer finger. It was large, embedded with gems that felt good under the pad of his finger. 

Bringing it to his mouth, Jeongguk clamped the ring between his teeth for a few moments, tasting the jewelry. The possessive, zealous instinct within him to hoard and collect pretty things sang with satisfaction at what Jimin had given him. 

Unable to help himself, Jeongguk peeked his head up out of the blanket to find Seokjin's eyes, holding the ring up for the older dragon's appraisal.

"You like it?" Seokjin rumbled, smiling at him softly. "Jimin said you could keep it."

A smile tugged at Jeongguk's lips, and he clenched the ring in his hands. Strangely, in the midst of all this confusion and turmoil, having Jimin trust him with the ring comforted him. And another part of Jeongguk realized that Jimin knew. He knew that Jeongguk was staring at his rings because they were pretty, and shiny, and that he wanted them for his hoard. Jimin knew this because he knew Seokjin.

Because he knew dragons.

"Will you tell me your name?" Seokjin asked. 

"Oh," he rasped out. "Jeongguk. My name...it's Jeongguk."

He didn't know how foreign those words would taste on his tongue until he said them. He couldn't remember the last time he'd introduced himself to anybody. Seokjin smiled at him, the warmest thing he'd ever seen. Now, looking up at the older dragon, Jeongguk could see just how handsome he was.

Seokjin had a face that inspired poetry, could incite wars, that would make any artist's hands itch.

"Jeongguk," Seokjin breathed out. "I'm glad I found you when I did. I don't know how much longer you would have survived, if I hadn't brought you back here."

Jeongguk's brows furrowed. "What...what's wrong with me? I've never gotten sick before."

Seokjin tipped his head to the side, clutching Jeongguk just a little bit closer.

"How old were you, during The Passing?" 

He was referring to the four years where all the magical creatures had teamed up in order to persecute as many dragons as they could. It was during the fourth year of The Passing that a group of vampires had somehow found their way into Jeongguk's family's home. Death by a vampire's venom was not a quiet nor a peaceful one, and Jeongguk had heard that firsthand, hiding by himself in the closet.

"Fifteen," Jeongguk whispered.

There was a pause after his answer, as if Seokjin was waiting for him to say more. When he didn't, horror crept into Seokjin's eyes.

"I'm sorry?" 

"I...I was fifteen," Jeongguk repeated.

"You were a hatchling," Seokjin breathed out. "And you've been alone all this time?"

Tears burned the back of Jeongguk's eyes, made his face hot. All he could do was nod, twisting Jimin's ring around and around in his hand. Seokjin stroked the back of his hand on Jeongguk's cheek.

"That's why you don't know," Seokjin said. "Jeonggukie, you're lovesick." 

Despite himself, Jeongguk let out a watery little chuckle. 

"What?" 

But Seokjin's expression didn't change into one of amusement — he just stared at Jeongguk with large, sad eyes.

"Dragons are the only species that can die of heartache," Seokjin said. "We feel so much, all of it, every ounce of pain and love and anger and sorrow — our emotions have the capacity to physically harm us, if we let it." 

Jeongguk soaked up the information in silence. Since The Passing, all the other magical creatures decided they would destroy everything that once belonged to the dragons. History books, health records, artwork — it was all burned away, leaving nothing but ash behind. Jeongguk grew up unable to learn about himself, filled to the brim with unanswered questions and curiosities about his own body, his own past, his own identity. 

"We're social creatures, Jeongguk," Seokjin continued. "A dragon without a weyr can only go so long before..."

All those times when Jeongguk had crawled into bed, loneliness clawing at his chest like a physical pain, Jeongguk hadn't known that he'd literally been dying. He thought he'd just been exaggerating the extent of his grief, but...now, Seokjin was telling him he wasn't.

"I was following you, on the sidewalk," Seokjin admitted, adjusting Jeongguk in his lap. "I saw you, and...something in me told me that I needed to help you. That I needed to know you." 

Shyly, Jeongguk suggested, "Maybe your dragon could sense mine. I — I actually usually never walk down that street. But I just didn't want to go back to my apartment that night, not yet. I didn't want to be alone again."

And the company of blank-faced strangers was better than the silence of his walls. A tiny part of him expected Seokjin to scoff at the romantic little notion, at Jeongguk's nod towards destiny possibly bringing them together. But Seokjin cupped his face instead, rested his forehead against Jeongguk's. 

"You'll never be alone again, Jeongguk. I promise you."

Doubt made Jeongguk want to curl up, bringing his knees up to tuck them in-between their chests. 

"You don't even know me," Jeongguk whispered. "You don't...you don't owe me anything."

Determination flashed through Seokjin's eyes as he tugged Jeongguk close again.

"I know you've suffered enough for a fledgling your age to ever have to suffer through. I know you are strong, for having survived so long on your own. I know you are resilient, and beautiful. I know you are a dragon."

And that—that filled Jeongguk up with a feeling he couldn't place. Because that was the only time he'd heard the word dragon spoken with so much...pride. With reverence instead of revulsion. 

Seokjin spoke their name with dignity, and for once Jeongguk didn't shy away from it. He didn't know Seokjin well enough to be able to put all of his faith into the other dragon's promise. And a large part of him didn't want to let himself fully believe it. Jeongguk knew that if he did, and the warmth Seokjin was giving him was taken away, he wouldn't survive it.

Jeongguk knew he had to shield his heart, but it was difficult when Seokjin looked at him like he's been searching for him for his entire life. When Seokjin ran gentle fingers through his hair, down the knobs of his spine, against the backs of his knees. So, for the warmth, for the kindness, for the hope, no matter how temporary, Jeongguk looked Seokjin in the eyes, allowing his own to glow gold for the first time in a long, long time. 

"Thank you, Jin hyung."

After some coaxing, Seokjin somehow managed to convince Jeongguk to come out to the kitchen to grab something to eat.

"Only Jimin and Namjoon are home right now, and Joonie is very kind," Seokjin explained, wrapping the blanket around Jeongguk like a cape. "He's a hydra, but really, his snarls are all for show. He couldn't hurt a fly. The only time he gets grumpy is when we don't take him for his monthly swims." 

Jeongguk stopped dead at the doorway, his brain conjuring up images of the large, three-headed aquatic creature. Seokjin patted at his head soothingly. 

"He just changed forms and swam yesterday, so he'll be docile as a lamb today. He won't hurt you, precious." 

Jeongguk rubbed the cold gem of Jimin's ring against the side of his cheek, peeking out into the hallway.

"When was the last time you shifted, little one?" Seokjin asked, pressing a steady hand in-between Jeongguk's shoulder blades and guiding him towards the kitchen.

"Can't remember," Jeongguk murmured, distracted by all the little frames hanging up on the walls.

It seemed like Seokjin's weyr had quite a bit of people, if the family pictures were anything to go by. Jeongguk anxiously counted six of them, including Seokjin. Six was a lot of people. Six was more people than Jeongguk's been together in a room with since he was 15.

He could feel Seokjin's concerned disapproval at his answer, but the older dragon let it go for now. Jeongguk was plopped down on a barstool, and he watched as Seokjin immediately opened up the fridge.

"We have some leftovers I can quickly microwave for you..."

Jeongguk stared as Seokjin ladled some soup into a deep bowl. He stuck it into the microwave and pressed 'go', watching Jeongguk's food rotate around and around. The last person to make him food had been his mom. A lump formed in Jeongguk's throat, and he had to look away.

Something shiny caught the corner of his eye. There, on the counter a few feet away, was a single piece of silver confetti. It was rumpled, as if it were leftover from a party from the weekend prior but was forgotten in the cleanup. 

It was lovely.

Jeongguk slowly reached an arm out for it, snagging the confetti in-between two fingers. He wondered about the story behind it. Had they been celebrating a birthday? An accomplishment? A passed exam? Though it was just a little piece of paper, it was the remainder of a night well-lived. 

It made Jeongguk ache.

Running the confetti against his cheek once, Jeongguk placed it carefully on the counter, right next to where he'd set down Jimin's ring.

"That's a lovely little hoard you've got there," a deep voice stated.

Jeongguk jumped, immediately placing his palm over his two treasures, glancing up to the stranger who stood a respectful distance away, his hands clasped behind his back. And — this must be Namjoon, the hydra. 

Namjoon the hydra was tall, and handsome, and muscular. He was bulky in a way Seokjin and Jimin weren't, his chest and biceps filling out the T-shirt he had on. Namjoon the hydra had dimples, and glasses, and brown, styled hair.

An indiscernible noise escaped Jeongguk's throat. He didn't know if it was a cry for help or a sound of awe — perhaps a strange mixture of both — but he grabbed the edges of the blanket hanging around his shoulders and bundled it around him, all the way up to his nose. Despite his haste to hide away, Jeongguk hadn't forgotten to clasp the ring and confetti in his fist, but now he was pouting at the thought of wrinkling the confetti even further.

"You're scaring him," Seokjin sighed, setting down a steaming bowl of soup in front of Jeongguk.

Namjoon frowned. 

"I'm not! I just said his hoard was nice! It's better than yours, hyung." 

"Watch it, brat," Seokjin groused, but Jeongguk watched with wide eyes as the dragon's expression melted into one of amusement instead of animosity.

Despite being the same height, perhaps Namjoon even being a few centimeters taller, Jeongguk watched as the hydra curled up small against Seokjin as the dragon pulled him in with a hand against the back of his neck. Seokjin ran his jaw against the top of Namjoon's head a few times before pulling back with a swift peck to the hydra's hairline.

It was sweet, and Jeongguk lowered the blanket a little bit so he could watch them. Namjoon caught his eye and winked playfully.

"Eat your soup, precious, then you can rest some more," Seokjin encouraged him, drawing his arms out of the blanket to clasp a spoon into Jeongguk's hands.

"Jimin is out running errands," Namjoon said. "He said he wanted to buy the new baby snacks. His words, not mine."

Jeongguk spooned some soup into his mouth. It was spicy, and homemade. It suddenly tasted like the best thing he'd ever eaten. Seokjin placed a side of rice beside him, and Jeongguk dug into that as well. When he glanced up, Seokjin was smiling at him.

"Eat it all up," the older dragon encouraged. "You'll need your strength to be well again." 

Jeongguk took an extra big bite of rice.

"Would you like me to find you a little box for your treasures?" 

Jeongguk thought about it, but ultimately shook his head 'no'. He liked holding onto them. They gave him a little sense of security and control, pressed against his skin like this.

"Your tattoos are very beautiful," Namjoon said, still keeping his distance from Jeongguk as the fledgling ate.

It was funny, thinking about how Jimin hadn't hesitated to get into his personal space, but Namjoon seemed to be so mindful of it. And despite their differences, Jeongguk liked both of them more the longer he knew them.

"Thank you," Jeongguk flushed. "I did them myself."

Namjoon's face shifted to awe. "Truly?" 

"Mhmm." 

Jeongguk wouldn't have trusted anybody to get so close to him, especially for something as intimate as tattooing his skin.

"You've found a little artist, Jin hyung," Namjoon breathed out.

Usually, when people saw his tattoos, they either looked on with indifference or sometimes even disgust. The way Namjoon looked at them made Jeongguk feel like he had Monets painted on his skin.

Comforted by the friendliness Namjoon had shown him, Jeongguk opened his mouth to say something. To compliment the hydra's necklaces, or his soothing voice, or even perhaps offer to one day tattoo something for Namjoon should he want it.

But he didn't get the chance to before the door was slamming open, and Jeongguk turned his head to meet eyes with a raging, angry vampire. 

"You," the vampire snarled, eyes blazing red. "Who the hell are you?"

With a speed that made Jeongguk dizzy, the vampire came straight for him. And the illusion of safety shattered like a fist slamming through a stained glass window.

Fear had Jeongguk scrambling to his feet, and right before he was slammed into, he gathered fire in his throat, and screamed.

The next few moments were completely out of Jeongguk's control. It was as if he were a bystander to his own actions, moving but not thinking. Hot, bursting flames escaped Jeongguk's mouth with his scream, but the vampire had quickly side-stepped it, with a grace that nodded towards centuries of life.

Panicked, Jeongguk felt his chest expand with flames again, and he turned his head back towards the vampire, ready to hurt him before he could hurt Jeongguk. Flames tickled the inside of his throat, the backs of his teeth, but before he could let them free Seokjin was there.

Seokjin was there, and he was yelling. 

"Stop it, Taehyung! Calm down now." 

The vampire was so mad he was snarling, red eyes completely trained on Jeongguk. Namjoon had moved to wrap thick arms around Taehyung's waist, holding him back.

"He smells like a threat," Taehyung spat.

Jeongguk bristled, fists clenching at his sides, fire licking along every inch of his stomach, his mouth. 

"He's not," Seokjin said. "I brought him here. He's not dangerous, Tae, please. You're scaring him."

"He doesn't look very scared," Taehyung argued, rage lining his eyes.

If Jeongguk had been passing Taehyung in the street, he's sure he would have stopped to get a second glance. Taehyung was tall, and broad, and so classically handsome he looked like he belonged in every Christmas romcom ever made. But like this, struggling in Namjoon's arms to get to Jeongguk, to hurt Jeongguk, Taehyung didn't look like a handsome love interest. 

He looked like a murderer. One that would eliminate Jeongguk's family, his entire species, without a second thought.

"Kim Taehyung," Namjoon's voice came out in a guttural hiss. "Calm. Down." 

The hydra's words could not be taken as anything but a command. Taehyung stopped struggling, but his eyes never left Jeongguk.

"He smells strange. I don't like him in the nest."

"He smells sick, Taehyung," Seokjin said, running a hand through his hair and tugging in stress. "Tae, he's — he's a dragon. Not just a dragon, but a fledgling." 

Something hesitant flashed through the vampire's face then. 

"He won't hurt us, baby," Seokjin said, voice gentling. "He needs help."

At the sight of Taehyung calm and almost regretful, Seokjin spun around to face Jeongguk. But the younger dragon wasn't so easily talked down as the temperamental vampire. Jeongguk's breaths were coming in shallow gasps, and his entire body was shaking so hard he felt dizzy.

"Little one," Seokjin reached out for him, but Jeongguk ducked away from the touch and ran. 

And perhaps, if he had any sense of self preservation, he would have ran right for the front door. Far away from the vampire who just a second ago had wanted to tear out his throat. But despite all the fear, Jeongguk thought of Seokjin's arms around his waist. The smell of his shirt, the slope of his collarbones as he allowed Jeongguk to nuzzle into his neck. 

He thought of Jimin, and his laugh, and his casual kindness in giving Jeongguk his ring.

And Namjoon, who looked at him like he was art, and kept his distance like he was afraid Jeongguk would break under his hands.

So Jeongguk ran to the hallway and slammed himself back into the room he'd woken up in. He twisted the lock on the door and backed away from it. He heard a light collision on the wood right after, as if Seokjin had chased after him and ran into the door.

"Jeongguk-ah," Seokjin called, voice desperate. "You're okay. I'm sorry Taehyung scared you, he...he's just protective. But I won't let him hurt you, I promise."

"He wants to kill me," Jeongguk rasped out. 

"No," Seokjin's voice was vehement, protective. "I'd never let him hurt you."

When Jeongguk didn't say anything, the doorknob wiggled. 

"Precious, will you please let me in?"

Jeongguk didn't answer. He just swallowed repeatedly, tasting ash in his throat. He'd never breathed fire like that before. It wasn't a skill dragons acquired until they were at least 50 years old. By then, Jeongguk was so deep in hiding he suppressed every draconic instinct and feature about himself so that he'd never be found. He never thought that it'd hurt so much. His throat felt scraped raw, and his voice was now hoarse. 

"Jeongguk-ah?" Seokjin tried again.

Jeongguk brought a shaking arm up and smeared the back of it against his lips. His skin came away covered in soot. He wiped it on the side of his pants, then quietly made his way to the bed. The warm duvet was still in the kitchen. Jeongguk yearned for it back.

He settled for the thin sheet instead. Wrapping it around himself, he padded to the other side of the bed, the space in-between the bedframe and the wall. Jeongguk tucked himself onto the floor there, out of sight from the door, curling his knees to his chest.

"Okay," Seokjin said, voice quiet and gentle. "Have some rest in there, okay? I'll talk to Tae. That'll never happen again, Jeongguk, I promise. I'll come check on you in a bit."

Fat, hot tears suddenly and silently ran down Jeongguk's face. He waited until he heard Seokjin's footsteps walk away before he let a little sob escape his chest. 

It hurt, being hated like that.

Just sitting in a kitchen and thinking that he might have found someplace to call home, only to be wrenched back to reality. Because — that was his reality. It was the only reality he'd ever known. Being on the defensive, and hiding, and never reaching out for fear of the fallout. For fear of people like Taehyung. 

And if it came down to it, Seokjin would never choose Jeongguk over Taehyung.

Taehyung was part of Seokjin's weyr. That was serious. That was sacred. He was the dragon's lover and family and mate all at once. The vampire would simply have to snap his fingers, and Jeongguk would be cast out on the street again.

Jeongguk tucked a corner of the sheet into his mouth to stifle his sobs. To distract himself, he uncurled his fist, stretching out his sore fingers. The ring and confetti fell to the ground in front of his face, and he stared at them until they blurred.

Perhaps this time, the grief of losing the brief warmth he'd found here would truly kill him.

☀

Seokjin stopped in the hallway when he heard the first sob. It took everything in him not to spin right around and kick the door down — it would be no harder than tearing through a piece of cardboard.

But he knew Jeongguk wanted to be alone right now, so he stood, and he listened. He listened, willing the little fledgling to call his name. To ask him to come back, to nuzzle back into his neck like he was asking for pieces of Seokjin that he was all too willing to give.

Because, frighteningly, Seokjin would. Despite the short amount of time they've known each other, Seokjin wanted to give and give, chip away at pieces of his old, weathered soul and give it all to Jeongguk if it'd help the little dragon heal.

He'd build cathedrals if only to show Jeongguk grace that the rest of the world had never given him. He'd swallow sky, and earth, and rainfall, be anything Jeongguk needed him to be, if it meant Jeongguk would never cry like this again.

But Jeongguk didn't call for him, and at this point, Seokjin didn't know if he deserved it. So he released a shaking breath, and walked away from the room. When he made it to the living room, Taehyung was peering at him from Namjoon's lap with guilty tears in his eyes.

"Hyung," Taehyung warbled, stumbling to his feet. "I'm sorry! I didn't think. I wasn't thinking. I'm so sorry." 

And this Taehyung was what Seokjin wished the vampire had shown to Jeongguk. Because Taehyung was kind —with the softest heart in Seokjin's entire weyr. 

But he'd known hurt before, too. So Taehyung was protective of their little family, almost to a fault. He scowled at creatures who stood too close, would go on walks at odd times of the night to sniff out any weird scents. Sometimes, on the rare nights that Seokjin would sleep alone in his own bed, he would wake to find Taehyung kneeling on the floor, slumbering with his head resting in his arms, propped up against the side of Seokjin's mattress.

Seokjin would always drag him up underneath the covers, would ask Taehyung what he was doing. The vampire would always smile up at him, sweet and slow, and tell him he was making sure Seokjin would have somewhere there, just in case the dragon had any nightmares.

Seokjin hadn't had recurring night terrors in almost a century. But Taehyung still remembered them, still hovered around Seokjin at bedtime with attentive eyes and gentle hands.

"The situation was not entirely your fault, Tae," Seokjin sighed. "I know you, and I should've called to warn you that Jeongguk was here." 

Taehyung sniffled, his bottom lip wobbling pitifully. It cracked Seokjin's heart, made his chest feel ten times heavier. Two of his babies were currently crying under his roof. He felt like a failure to both of them. Still, he squared his shoulders, and carried on.

"But I'm also disappointed," Seokjin said quietly, forcing himself to ignore the little sob Taehyung let out at that.

"Namjoon and I were both screaming for you to stop, and you didn't. Not fast enough. I wish that you would've trusted us a little more, and listened." 

Taehyung nodded frantically.

"I should've, hyung. I'm sorry. I was just so mad, and scared, and he smells so—"

The vampire cut himself off, unsure.

"He's smells so wrong because he's dying, Taehyung," Namjoon gently interjected. "He's sick, so his blood doesn't smell as welcoming to you as others' does." 

Taehyung kept his gaze on the floor, looking very small.

"Come here, Taehyung," Seokjin opened his arms, and Taehyung barreled straight into them. 

"I'm not angry," Seokjin soothed, cupping the back of the vampire's head the way he knew Taehyung liked. "You were trying to protect us, hmm?"

"Yea," Taehyung warbled. "Is...is he okay?" 

The mention of Jeongguk made Seokjin's heart sink once more. 

"He's...sad, and overwhelmed, and scared. But he wanted to be alone, so I gave him space." 

The sheer guilt made Taehyung tear up all over again. "I'm sorry."

Pulling back, Seokjin thumbed away Taehyung's tears.

"You can apologize to Jeongguk once he's feeling better, beloved," Seokjin smiled. "Okay?" 

"I will," Taehyung said. "And how...how can I help? How can I help him get better, from his sickness?"

"A lot of love, and care, and hugs," Seokjin squeezed Taehyung back towards him playfully, rocking them from side to side. "Jimin's already bribed him with a little treasure."

Coming close as if to give away a secret, Seokjin whispered, "Jimin already thinks he'll be Jeongguk's favorite hyung." 

Taehyung's mouth dropped open in competitive shock.

"There's no way," Taehyung stated. "Please let me go, hyung, I've got business to take care of."

Seokjin let his arms drop, and Taehyung ran to his room. Moments later, Seokjin could hear cabinets being upturned and sifted through. 

Namjoon tossed his head back and let out a loud, booming laugh.

☀

Jeongguk didn't mean to fall asleep again. The last thing he remembered was feeling cold. So cold his bones ached with it. 

He felt like a house hollowed out, just a framework of a body half-completed. He was still on the floor, the sheet tucked meticulously around him — against his sides, underneath his feet, all the way up to his neck. 

His hoard was still sitting right next to his head, and he wriggled an arm out to hold it. But when Jeongguk moved, something moved in response. 

Startling, Jeongguk peered up, and found a night sky. Disoriented, he blinked harshly, reaching his hand up to grasp at the stars dancing in his vision.

His fingers hit something leathery and tough. The sky shifted above him, enough so that the light caught it. 

Jeongguk wasn't peering up at the night.

He was looking at an onyx dragon wing, armored with smooth, strong scales.

Jeongguk sat up, eyes wide. The wing moved with him, gently draping over his shoulder, cradling him close. When he turned his head, he expected to see Seokjin there. But the face he met was unfamiliar. Beautiful, and gentle, and kind.

The man was laying on the bed half-shifted, propped up on his side, his massive dragon wings spread out like a canopy above them. He looked like a night sky. A darkness so intense that the sound of your own heartbeat became music. He looked like the fade into something new.

"Hello, little one. My name is Yoongi."

☀

Jeongguk wondered if it was a requirement to be ridiculously good-looking in order to join Seokjin's weyr. Comically, that was the first thought that consumed his mind as he stared at Yoongi with wide eyes.

Yoongi, the dragon. Yoongi, the second dragon Jeongguk had met in the span of a few hours after living for almost a century without seeing another of his kind. When Jeongguk did nothing but gape, Yoongi attempted to tug him a bit closer with the wing draped across his shoulders.

"I heard you've been having a rough day," Yoongi's voice was basically a croon, sympathy lining his eyes as if he'd known Jeongguk for ages. 

"Are there any more?" Jeongguk asked, voice wavering.

"Any more?" Yoongi asked.

"Any more of us," Jeongguk whispered.

Grief was an eclipse on Yoongi's face.

"Before you, Seokjin hyung and I thought we were the only ones left," Yoongi said gently. 

"Oh," Jeongguk replied, hope deflating like a balloon inside his chest.

"But the thing about dragons," Yoongi continued. "Is that we are resourceful. If we've managed to hide out for this long...who's to say others haven't, as well?" 

Jeongguk nodded, but it was clear to see from the expression on his face that he didn't believe it. Yoongi let out a sigh, then scooted back on the bed.

"Come here, off the floor," he said. "If Jin hyung found out you were sleeping down there, he'd throw a fit." 

"No one could see me there," Jeongguk muttered, clambering back onto the bed.

Yoongi's head tilted to the side as he regarded Jeongguk.

"You need that?" Yoongi asked. "You like feeling hidden away when you sleep?"

Jeongguk shrugged. "I guess so."

For some reason, something extremely fond passed over Yoongi's face, and he reached out to place a hand on Jeongguk's hair.

"That's a fledgling instinct, to want to be protected when you're sleeping," Yoongi said. "You're so young, still. I bet you're the youngest in the weyr."

A tiny gasp left Jeongguk's mouth at that. He didn't know if Yoongi had meant to do it or not, but the older dragon's words made it seem as if Jeongguk was already part of their weyr. It made Jeongguk's lips tilt up, and he brought a hand up to cover it, feeling shy. Yoongi's eyes glimmered with something knowing, and Jeongguk had a feeling that this dragon was the type to know much more than he let on. 

"What's that you've got there?" Yoongi asked, nodding with his chin towards Jeongguk's clenched fist.

Hesitantly, Jeongguk unfurled his hand and held it out for Yoongi's inspection.

Yoongi and Seokjin were so much older than him — he was sure their hoards were much more impressive than even the one Jeongguk had back home. But there was a giddiness rising up within him as well. Jeongguk's never gotten to show off his hoard before. It was such a basic and powerful drive for dragons to collect, and treasure, and love — but Jeongguk never got to share that with anybody, until now.

Nobody else would truly understand just how much a hoard meant to a dragon. So when Yoongi inspected the ring and crinkled confetti with silent eyes, Jeongguk shifted impatiently, waiting for the older dragon's verdict.

When Yoongi didn't say anything, Jeongguk began rambling.

"Jimin-ssi gave me the ring," he said quickly. He noticed Yoongi's brows raise in surprise at that, but he powered on. 

"I was looking because they were pretty, I didn't think he'd give one to me, honest," Jeongguk explained. "And...want to see the confetti in the light? It looks like a tiny star, if you squint at it. It's a bit flimsy though, so I'm scared it might rip soon..."

His voice tapered out, and Yoongi graced him with the softest smile Jeongguk's ever seen.

"That's the loveliest hoard I've ever seen, little one," Yoongi said. 

And something in his voice told Jeongguk he wasn't lying. Like spring slowly unraveling at his feet, the coldest parts of Jeongguk thawed. A tremble ran through Jeongguk's spine, and Yoongi's look of warmth turned into one of concern.

Quickly, Yoongi reached for the duvet that he must have brought back into the room, and wrapped it around Jeongguk's shoulders. When Jeongguk continued shivering, Yoongi unceremoniously pulled the fledgling into his lap, wrapping his wings entirely around him for warmth.

"Now," he said. "Jin hyung told me that you're lovesick. Can you tell me what your symptoms have been?"

Heart racing at their vicinity, Jeongguk felt his face flush, though whether it was with fever or nerves, he couldn't tell.

"I've just been really cold," Jeongguk said. "So cold it...it aches. It hurts to move, like my bones are freezing together. And 'm just tired. Jin hyung found me after I'd collapsed in the street."

Yoongi hummed in acknowledgment. 

"Poor bug," he murmured. "A warm bath would do you good, hmm? Nobody even gave you any socks to wear, honestly, just because I'm the only physician in the house doesn't mean they lack common sense..."

Jeongguk blinked at Yoongi in surprise.

"You're...you're a doctor?"

Yoongi just hummed again, this time in agreement, as he hugged Jeongguk close one last time before letting his wings fold all the way into his back, disappearing from view.

"But how?" Jeongguk blurted. "You...you must see so many people. Aren't you afraid?"

Yoongi looked at him then, face somber.

"Jin hyung and I are very, very old," he said. "One of the Firsts, Jeongguk. We're...well, it just means that we're..."

"It means that they're strong as hell," a voice interjected.

Jeongguk turned to see Jimin in the doorway again, fluttering a few inches off the ground. He wondered if he'd ever get used to how silently Jimin moved, and how suddenly he seemed to appear everywhere.

Yoongi cringed with what looked like embarrassment.

"Something like that," the older dragon said. "After The Passing, Seokjin and I were powerful enough to know how to completely hide our dragon forms. I...I'm very surprised you were able to do it, honestly."

"Our Jeonggukie is just naturally talented," Jimin cooed, flying over to them to place a quick peck on Jeongguk's head, then on Yoongi's. "He doesn't need to be old and withered like you two to be powerful."

Jeongguk flushed again, giggling more at Yoongi's disgruntled expression than at Jimin's words. He knew they weren't true — he'd just gotten lucky that he hadn't been discovered. Very, very lucky.

It made sense that Seokjin and Yoongi were Firsts. If any dragons could survive The Passing, it would be their species' most ancient and most powerful. Back when dragons were still plentiful, the Firsts were almost always in positions of power.

Jeongguk truly was just a fledgling to them.

"I'm going to run Jeongguk a bath," Yoongi said. "To ease the ache in his joints." 

For a split second, something mischievous flashed across Jimin's face, but it was quickly replaced by a beaming smile. 

"Good idea, hyung."

Yoongi gently slid Jeongguk off his lap, then held out a large hand for him to help him off the bed. Jeongguk took it gratefully, unwilling to let them see just how shaky his limbs were feeling. 

"The bathroom down the hall is free, I think," Jimin said, then flew away.

Yoongi lead him there, his thumb running circles along the back of Jeongguk's hand the whole way. When Yoongi opened the door, there was a tiny little shriek and a splash.

Yoongi let out a long sigh.

"Jimin, you little fiend!" he shouted down the hallway. "I thought fae couldn't tell lies!"

"I said I think!" Jimin was cackling in a manner that somehow sounded distinctly evil and innocent at the same time. "Hyung could have been out by now!" 

Jeongguk peeked into the bathroom in curiosity, then let out a little shriek of his own when he saw a man in there.

Or — not a man, but a siren.

His tail was a shocking shade of bright orange, resting halfway out of the bathtub he was lounging in. He looked like a sunrise bottled up and crafted into one of the loveliest beings Jeongguk's ever seen, and Jeongguk planted his face in the middle of Yoongi's back to keep himself from staring.

"Sorry, Hob-ah, Jimin told us this bathroom was free," Yoongi rumbled out.

"It's okay," the siren suddenly laughed. "You just scared me! Is that the famous Jeonggukie I've been hearing about all day?"

Jeongguk did a minuscule shift to free one eye from the folds of Yoongi's shirt, looking towards the siren again. When they met eyes, the siren smiled.

Then, as if a flip switched, his eyes went half-lidded, and his smile became a little...more. 

"You could join me if you'd like, little dragon," the siren drawled. "Everyone's gotten to spend time with you but me, how is that fair?"

Jeongguk wondered if it was possible to catch on fire if he blushed hard enough. He gaped at the siren, unsure of what to say.

"Hoseok!" Yoongi scolded. "It is not the time." 

Hoseok blinked, and suddenly he was grinning sheepishly at them.

"He's so cute I couldn't help myself," Hoseok said. "I just want to eat him up!" 

Jeongguk continued gaping.

"He's just kidding," Yoongi said hurriedly, turning to drag Jeongguk away with a heavy arm around his waist. "He may be a siren, but he's never eaten anyone in his life, I promise."

The older dragon slammed the door shut behind them, and Jeongguk could still hear Hoseok giggling from behind the wood.

"He really is just kidding," Yoongi said. "Hoseok finds it hard to hold back from flirting, especially with those he thinks are attractive."

Jeongguk's shoulders rose to his ears, his cheeks hot.

"He was very pretty too," he said quietly. 

There was a pause, then a fond laugh. 

"Don't let him hear you say that," Yoongi replied. "It'll go straight to his head, then he'll never leave you alone."

They made it to another bathroom, just as grand and ornate as the one Hoseok had been in. Yoongi folded up a towel and set it on the counter for Jeongguk to safely place his hoard in. Then Yoongi ran the water for him, kneeling by the tub to make sure the temperature was right.

Jeongguk was still too shy to undress in front of Yoongi, so he hesitated by the tub as it filled up. Yoongi poured bubbles into it, a sweet-smelling soap, even adjusted the bath mat so it would be right there when Jeongguk stepped out. Yoongi lit a tiny candle, checked to see if the floor heating was on, checked again, lined up the shampoos and conditioners and body washes side by side in a meticulous line.

It took a while for Jeongguk to realize Yoongi was fretting.

"Yoongi-ssi," Jeongguk said. "I think I'm okay now. Thank you."

Yoongi looked up from the two soaps he was debating between, and embarrassment crossed his features.

"Sorry," the dragon half-laughed. "I'm guess I'm just...worried."

"This is the most anybody has taken care of me in lifetimes," Jeongguk said softly. "And I..." 

His throat closed up, but Yoongi seemed to understand. He set down the soaps and stepped close, bringing a rough palm up to cup Jeongguk's cheek.

"Call the rest of us hyung too, Jeongguk. Okay?" 

Leaning his cheek in to nuzzle at the older dragon's palm, Jeongguk only paused for a moment before he nodded.

"Okay, hyung."

Yoongi left him to bathe then, and when Jeongguk sank into the warm water, for a moment it felt like he was floating in the middle of the ocean. There was nothing around him but uncertainty, and change, but perhaps that was the greatest gift Jeongguk could have ever received.

Yoongi had left an outfit for him on the counter. He was bundled up in a way he'd never been before, with fuzzy socks and an oversized sweater and plaid pajama pants. Normally, Jeongguk would have overheated in an outfit this stifling. Now, he was still shivering.

He took a long time in the bath, so long that Seokjin had come to knock on the door and check on him. Strangely, even though they hadn't been apart for more than a few hours, the sound of the older dragon's voice sent a pang of longing through Jeongguk.

Jeongguk had already been out of the bath then, sitting in a towel on the heated marble flooring. He marveled at it — he didn't have heated floors in his apartment, didn't need them. Part of him wanted to press his cheek to the floor and fall asleep in there, lethargy making his bones heavy. The heat of the water had made him dizzy, too, and his gut was churning uncomfortably. 

"Come out when you're ready," Seokjin had said. "We'll wait for you to eat. You didn't eat much at lunch today."

And because of his nerves, Jeongguk stalled for as long as he could. He brushed his teeth with a spare toothbrush and put lotion on his face. He pulled faces at himself in the mirror, and slipped Jimin's ring on every single one of his fingers. 

But eventually, he knew he'd hidden away for too long. It would be better to rip the band aid off. If they wanted him to leave, he would. He'd have no choice to. In the end, he was nothing more than a stranger to them. 

The memory of the fury in Taehyung's eyes made Jeongguk's stomach churn, nausea making him dizzy. Jeongguk stopped in the hallway, a hand pressed against the wall to keep his balance. 

He could hear laughter from the kitchen, and the sound of the rice cooker singing. There was soft music playing from a speaker, and everything just seemed so...right. This was a home that he was standing in, a home that was so obviously full of love, and family, and Jeongguk wanted it. 

He hadn't wanted anything more in his entire life, than to be part of that laughter.

"Coming, pretty?" 

Hoseok came up from behind Jeongguk, now fully dry and in his human form, legs and all. His hair was still a shocking shade of orange, his skin tanned and sunsoaked. He held out a hand for Jeongguk, easy as ever, as if they held hands every day.

Jeongguk only hesitated a moment before he shyly let their fingers link, smiling when Hoseok hummed and lead him to the kitchen, swinging their arms in-between them like a child. Right before they turned the corner, Hoseok leaned in and whispered, "I think you're pretty too, Jeonggukie."

When the siren pulled back, Jeongguk expected a teasing smirk to be on his face. But his expression was gentle, and he peered at Jeongguk with an open sincerity that caught the dragon off guard.

"And you'll be prettier with a full stomach," Hoseok beamed. "Dinner time!"

"Dinner time!" Jimin echoed, flying over to them and making circles above their heads. "Jeongguk, sit next to me, please!" 

"I've already called dibs," Hoseok reached up and yanked at Jimin's ankle, disrupting the fae's flight.

"No you didn't, you just called him pretty," Jimin deadpanned, swatting Hoseok with a wing. "Which is a very overused compliment and I simply think Jeonggukie's stellar looks shouldn't be undermined by—"

"Jimin-ah, sit down," Seokjin laughed. "You'll make yourself dizzy."

Jeongguk let out a little laugh at their antics, wanting to both hide his face and squeeze Jimin in a hug at the same time. He knew the fae was playing it up to ease the tension, and Jeongguk felt a surge of gratitude.

"Thank you for the ring," Jeongguk bowed a little at Jimin, then shyly held out his hand so Jimin could see the ring residing on his pointer finger. Jimin settled to to the ground then, smile gentling, and he reached out and pressed a kiss right to Jeongguk's knuckles. Hoseok giggled at the princely gesture, and demanded Jimin give him a kiss too. 

Namjoon took Jeongguk by the arm and steered him towards the table, where Seokjin was setting down plates of steaming food. Taehyung was also standing there, glancing up at Jeongguk nervously.

Namjoon parked Jeongguk right in front of the vampire, and he tensed, ready to spring back if Taehyung made any sudden movements. There was a few beats of silence in which Jeongguk refused to look at Taehyung, keeping his eyes trained on his feet. He could feel his throat clicking reflexively, unsure if it wanted to bring his flames up or not. 

To his shock, Taehyung moved to bow fully at the waist, his face parallel to the floor. 

"I wanted to apologize for attacking you, Jeongguk."

With how much older Taehyung probably was than him, it felt wrong to have the vampire bowing so deeply. 

"I was just trying to protect my family and I didn't recognize your smell. But I should've listened when the hyungs told me to stop. And I'm so, so sorry for scaring you."

Taehyung held the bow for a few more beats before straightening. To Jeongguk's surprise, there were tears lining the vampire's bottom lashes. 

"I'll make it up to you, I promise. You're safe here, and I'm sorry I made you believe otherwise."

And Jeongguk — he understood. If he had a family like this, he'd do anything to protect it too. He thought perhaps he and Taehyung were more similar than either of them thought. Love showed itself with many different faces, and not all of those faces were going to be gentle or pretty.

And as much as he still had an innate fear of vampires, an innate fear of any stranger, really, he trusted Seokjin and Yoongi, despite the short amount of time he's known them. And if Seokjin and Yoongi loved Taehyung enough to have him in their weyr, then he was someone Jeongguk could trust, as well.

"The hunters that killed my family," Jeongguk found himself saying. "They were vampires."

The room went silent, and Taehyung's head whipped up, his eyes wide as he stared at Jeongguk.

"My hyung hid me, and I had to listen as my entire family was murdered," Jeongguk's voice shook. "The smell of their blood and the vampires' scent lingered for days. For weeks. I know how it feels, to love people so desperately you would do anything to protect them. I know how it feels, to be scared of losing people." 

"Jeongguk..."

Seokjin looked like he wanted to move towards him, and the rest of the weyr were frozen, silent at Jeongguk's revelation. It made the entire situation with Taehyung worse –– the fact that Jeongguk had lost everyone to vampires, to Taehyung's species.

"And that's why I forgive you," Jeongguk whispered. "I can't be angry with you for just wanting to protect your family. Thank you...thank you for apologizing." 

Taehyung's face twisted, and he bit his lip as the tears that had been brimming ran down his cheek, shaking his head as if he wanted to deny Jeongguk's acceptance. 

"Thank you for sharing," Taehyung whispered. "And thank you for forgiving me. I promise you, I'll never do anything to harm you. Ever, Jeongguk, I swear it." 

Taehyung hesitated, looking like he wanted to wrap Jeongguk in a hug, but instead he slowly reached out and bared his wrist, his veins prominent against his pale skin. 

Jeongguk sucked in a silent breath.

This was a vampiric gesture of trust. Of acceptance. Jeongguk finished it, wrapping his hand around the vulnerable skin of Taehyung's wrist, squeezing it gently. They smiled at each other, and Jeongguk wondered if this was how it felt, finding rain after grief had sucked your veins dry.

He ended up sitting between Seokjin and Yoongi during dinner, relaxing in-between the two older dragons. Seokjin ran his jaw above the top of Jeongguk's wet hair, and Yoongi rubbed his back once over his sweater before taking his seat.

As they ate, Jeongguk's plate was never left empty. After a few minutes, Seokjin gently turned to Jeongguk and said, "Can we ask? How you managed to...hide, this whole time?" 

Jeongguk shoveled some steamed broccoli into his mouth. Gave himself time to think. In all his years of living, he didn't allow himself to reflect too much. It hurt too much, to relive it.

"It was mostly luck," Jeongguk said slowly. "I didn't do anything special. I just...never shifted. Wore sunglasses, in case my eyes turned gold."

"I moved from city to city, and only took remote jobs. I'm good at art, and it's easy to find illustration jobs online. No one ever found out because..." 

"Because you never let yourself get close to anyone?" Yoongi finished for him.

"Yea," Jeongguk agreed, his voice small.

"Not a single person? After all this time?" Seokjin's voice sounded pained. 

"Not a single person," Jeongguk confirmed.

Silence fell over the dinner table.

"That must have been lonely," Hoseok frowned. "You must have been so..." 

He trailed off, because he didn't need to say it. Jeongguk knew better than any of them how hard it was, to live in isolation for so long.

"Well, you have us now," Jimin said fiercely. "And you'll never be alone again, not if you don't want to be. And you'll find that many creatures today aren't afraid of dragons anymore, Jeongguk. Some creatures are realizing their mistakes during The Passing."

"But he still has to be careful," Yoongi countered gently. "Just because there are more creatures today that are seeing how wrong our persecution was, that doesn't mean that the majority of creatures wouldn't want to harm any dragon they came across."

Jimin seemed to deflate a little bit at that. 

"Right," the fae agreed. "You're right, and I hate that you're right. I hate it."

Namjoon reached over to take Jimin's hand. 

"But until the world changes, we'll protect you," Namjoon said. "You're not alone anymore, Jeongguk."

Setting his chopsticks down, Jeongguk moved to press his shaking hands underneath his thighs.

"You're talking — you're all talking as if you're asking me to stay. To really stay, and I just...please don't make it sound like you want me forever if it's temporary for you."

"Oh, precious," Seokjin breathed out. "There's been a place for you here since the moment I caught you on that sidewalk. There's not a single part of me that wants this to be temporary, Jeongguk." 

Jeongguk stared at him, unable to speak. Just like that — Seokjin was offering him everything he'd ever dreamed of on a silver platter, just like that. As if it were such an easy thing. As if safety and loneliness did not go hand in hand, the way Jeongguk thought it did.

"We'll work on getting to know each other, little one," Yoongi interjected when he saw how overwhelmed Jeongguk was getting. "But you have a home here, with us, if you want it." 

"I want it," Jeongguk said quickly. "I really, really want it."

The entire table beamed at him then, and Jeongguk wanted to smile back, but the nausea that had been building in his stomach since the bath had steadily been growing and growing. He barely had time to make it to the kitchen sink before dinner was coming back up. Seokjin and Yoongi were beside him in an instant, one of their hands reaching out to run the water.

"Jeongguk, are you hurt?" Seokjin asked, voice laced with poorly concealed panic. "Has your stomach been bothering you the whole time?" 

Jeongguk nodded.

"Is this normal?" Seokjin asked Yoongi, bringing a hand to Jeongguk's forehead. "He hasn't really eaten since before I found him, he only had a couple bites of lunch, and if he can't stomach this..."

"The food must've been too heavy," Yoongi said, wiping Jeongguk's mouth with a wet cloth.

"'M fine," Jeongguk said. "I think I just ate too fast."

"I think we pushed you a little too hard, precious," Seokjin frowned. "I should've known." 

"Taehyung-ah, can you grab the heated blankets and set them up on Jeongguk's bed?" Yoongi asked.

"And Jimin, could you boil some water for tea?" 

Two pairs of footsteps scampered off, and then Seokjin was silently bending down and carrying Jeongguk in his arms. 

"Back to bed," he announced, ignoring Jeongguk's squawks of protest.

Seokjin strode effortlessly towards the hallways, as if he weren't carrying a fully grown man in his arms. They made it to the bedroom right as Taehyung was setting the bed, and Jeongguk was gently placed underneath a pile of blankets.

"Well, that is not the reaction we expected after asking you to join our weyr," Hoseok teased, setting a glass of water onto the nightstand.

Jeongguk let out a small chuckle, still reeling at the events of the day. 

He had a weyr now. He was part of a weyr, his weyr. Out of habit, Jeongguk reached for his hoard. Ran his finger along the ring, and then — cringed when he realized he'd left the confetti at the dinner table.

Seokjin, who had been fluffing the pillows, caught the expression.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Does your stomach still hurt?" Taehyung asked. 

Jeongguk shook his head, biting his lip. He didn't want to bother them. It was even silly in his head, let alone out loud — the thought of one of them going out of their way to bring him a little slip of paper. But then Yoongi was striding in with a steaming mug of tea in one hand, and the confetti in the other. 

The older dragon winked at him when he handed it over. Jeongguk took it with a relieved smile.

"You've all been so kind to me," he said almost dreamily, growing sleepy.

Taehyung laughed, and it sounded like hot chocolate. The sweetest, warmest thing. 

"You're tired, little one," Seokjin said. "We'll talk more in the morning." 

Jeongguk laid down on the pillow after taking a few sips of tea. The blanket was pulled up to his chin.

"If this is a dream," Jeongguk whispered. "I'm glad to have dreamt it."

"It isn't a dream, bug," someone said, laughter coating their voice like sunlight. "When you wake up, we'll still be here." 

"You're right," Jeongguk agreed. "None of my dreams have ever been this good."

☀

Jeongguk dreamt.

He dreamt he was climbing a tall, church-like tower, desperate to find sun at the top. The staircase was winding, a rich blue, cold underneath his cracked bare feet. He went up and up, and when he could no longer stand, he fell to his knees and crawled. 

But time moved too fast and he too slow, and Jeongguk's desires came too quickly for his body to be able to sate. So he laid on the steps, cold as ever, stars hanging like tears on every shadow clinging to his body.

The tower crumbled from underneath him with a whisper, not a roar, and strangely — the fall was less frightening than the climb.

"Jeongguk-ah. Can you open your eyes for me, little one?" 

The whisper was pressed right against his ear, and when Jeongguk roused, he sucked in a sharp, pained breath. Because his entire body ached. He felt frozen stiff, limbs cramping as he tried hard to move. He tried to open his mouth, tried to ask the voice to help, because he was in pain, it hurt so bad he wished they hadn't tried waking him up. 

But all that came out was a little whimper, and the gentle words morphed into cursing.

"Someone needs to hold him," the words faded in and out, this second voice a bit further from where Jeongguk was laying. "He needs physical contact..."

"...another bath?"

"...got this bad before, it's because we left him alone..." 

"...keep messing things up..."

Jeongguk tried hard to focus on the words, because he knew there was importance in what was being said around him, but he couldn't find the strength to concentrate. He let out another noise, a mixture of both pain and frustration, and the voices cut themselves off.

Then, his body was being shifted, and he felt warm, strong arms wrapping around him, his face pressing into a firm chest. Jeongguk was about to protest, sure that the movement would pain him even more, but then strangely, his body...relaxed. He completely melted, every pinch and pain easing as every tense part of his body let go. 

"There we go," a voice murmured, lips pressing again and again into the crown of his hair. "That's better, isn't it? Just needed someone to hold you, I'm sorry we didn't realize..."

A hand combed back his fringe and pressed to his forehead.

"He's warming up," the relief was evident in the person's voice, and if Jeongguk had the strength, he'd tilt his face towards it like the sun.

The arms around him tightened, and Jeongguk sighed in relief. This time, his sleep was dreamless, and warm.

When Jeongguk woke again, there was no longer any pain. He was being moved, a pair of arms sliding out from under him and legs moving from between his. He smacked his lips and squinted his eyes open, confused. When Seokjin met his eyes, shock filtered through his before they gentled with a smile. 

"I didn't mean to wake you," Seokjin whispered. "I have to go to work, but go back to sleep. I'll call someone else in here to hold you."

But Jeongguk felt more like following Seokjin than going back to sleep, so he reached his hand under the pillow, grabbed his hoard, and sat up as well. Seokjin sent him a questioning look, but Jeongguk shook his head when the older tried to get him to lay back down.

It seemed no one else was awake yet, because the apartment was quiet and still.

He watched Seokjin's morning routine, and the odd domesticity of it made Jeongguk's stomach swoop. He couldn't take his eyes off of the older dragon, desperate to memorize every single detail. Seokjin first rooted around under the blankets and found the socks Jeongguk had kicked off, pulling them back onto his feet for him.

Then Jeongguk was following Seokjin to the bathroom, lingering in the doorway and watching as he brushed his teeth, washed his face. Seokjin was a good sport about it, gently moving around Jeongguk as if his presence wasn't a nuisance, even when he came in closer to marvel at all the skin products lined up on the bathroom counter. 

"Want to eat breakfast with hyung, precious?" Seokjin patted his face dry.

Jeongguk, who was now brushing his own teeth with a purple toothbrush Seokjin had unwrapped and handed to him, nodded. Though he was curious about so many things, Jeongguk's gaze kept wandering back to the older dragon. Even fresh from sleep like this, the dragon was beautiful. Seokjin had his black hair pushed back with a fuzzy alpaca headband, but somehow he looked regal and almost daunting as he strode towards the wardrobe and pulled on slacks and a white dress shirt.

Jeongguk stared shyly at Seokjin's back as he dressed. He never knew shoulders could be that broad outside of TV dramas. When Seokjin turned around and caught his eyes, Jeongguk flushed and leaned down to spit toothpaste into the sink.

They held hands even as they walked the short distance to the kitchen. Jeongguk flourished under the attention, and he felt much less nauseous than the night before.

"What would you like to eat?" Seokjin asked.

"Anything, hyung," Jeongguk answered easily.

He lingered by the kitchen island as Seokjin began pulling out ingredients.

"Here," Seokjin placed a bowl and five eggs in front of him. "Can you help me crack these open?" 

"Yes," Jeongguk answered.

He cracked each egg carefully, careful of little pieces of shell falling in. Truthfully, Jeongguk didn't cook a lot. Eating was already such a lonely endeavor, he never liked prolonging the experience more than he had to. It was much easier to order takeout or delivery so he didn't have to yearn for someone he could eat with as he cooked.

Seokjin made them omelettes stuffed with vegetables, and he scooped them over piles of steaming, white rice. He placed their plates across from each other at the table. Jeongguk had already set out the silverware, and had seriously eyed a shiny, ornate fork for his hoard. But then Seokjin was gently closing the drawer, murmuring, "Nothing too sharp in your hoard please," and then he was pulling Jeongguk to the table. 

Morning was beautiful on Seokjin. 

He made loud, pleased noises as he ate, and he still had his headband on from when he washed his face, and he drew a lopsided heart on Jeongguk's omelette with ketchup.  Jeongguk drew a happy face onto Seokjin's in return, and Seokjin laughed. Jeongguk wanted this morning again and again. 

'This is it,' he thought to himself. 'This is all I'd ever, ever need.'

When Hoseok came stumbling in, half-dressed and sleepy, their quiet morning broke. But as the siren hummed to the coffee maker and then promptly began shrieking when Taehyung came up behind him and tickled his sides, Jeongguk just grew warmer and warmer.

He ate around the ketchup heart, wanting to save the best part for last. But then he grew too full, and when Taehyung came to the table wanting food, Jeongguk was glad to push his plate over to the vampire. 

Taehyung gasped. "Jeongguk, you're giving me your heart? I must say it feels a bit soon, but I accept!" Jeongguk couldn't help but laugh, then, bright and happy. 

Taehyung's face softened at the sight, and he reached out to pinch at Jeongguk's chin fondly before digging into the omelette. 

"Don't you have to drink blood?" Jeongguk asked curiously.

"Not with every meal," Taehyung said, a piece of rice stuck to the corner of his lips.

"Tae doesn't even need to eat, he just likes the taste of food," Hoseok plopped beside Seokjin and pouted at the dragon's clear plate. Jeongguk hummed. 

He did feel hungry. Not physically hungry, as his stomach still didn't feel at its strongest, but hungry for information. He wanted to soak up as much as he could about this — his! — weyr. He wanted to know everything about them, their favorites and fears and all. But he didn't want to annoy them with endless questions, so he bit his lip to quell his curiosities and fiddled with his hoard as Taehyung ate.

"I'm leaving now, darlings," Seokjin said, walking to place his plate in the sink. "I'll try to come home early today." 

A pang of panic shot through Jeongguk at the thought of Seokjin leaving. Though the rest of the weyr were good and nice and everything Jeongguk's wanted, Seokjin was his first.

The first dragon he's met in lifetimes. The first person he saw when he woke up. The first to hold him through a long, cold night. 

His worry must have shown on his face, because Seokjin came around to his side of the table and cupped his cheeks. "Taehyung, Jimin and Hoseok are staying home today," Seokjin said. "You'll have fun. I think Jimin was talking last night about a movie day." 

"Okay," Jeongguk nodded, not wanting to give in to the urge to cling to Seokjin so he couldn't go. Instead, he planted his face right in Seokjin's belly, the buttons of his dress shirt digging into Jeongguk's cheek.

Seokjin gave him a tight hug, as if he didn't want to leave either, but then he was bending down to press a kiss to each of Jeongguk's cheeks.

"See you soon, precious," Seokjin said. 

Then, he was kissing Hoseok and Taehyung goodbye as well, slipping on his shoes and disappearing out the door. Hoseok and Taehyung exchanged amused looks, but Jeongguk stared at the door for minutes after Seokjin left. It wasn't until Taehyung moved to put his now-empty plate in the sink that he realized Jeongguk was silently crying.

"Oh, Jeonggukie," Taehyung crooned, dropping his plate back onto the table to gently wrap himself around Jeongguk's back, hugging him. "He'll be back." 

"I'm sorry," Jeongguk said, wiping his tears away with a harsh hand. "This is embarrassing. I shouldn't be crying over something like this." 

"Joining a weyr is always an emotional time," Hoseok soothed. "Especially so, if you've been isolated for so long. It's normal, love." 

"Besides, even though Jin hyung has a great poker face, he was just as torn up about leaving you, too. I guarantee it," Taehyung said. 

Almost petulantly, Jeongguk asked, "How do you know?"

It had seemed easy enough for Seokjin to walk out that door. He hadn't even looked back. Turning Jeongguk so that he'd face him, Taehyung gently bopped him on the nose, grinning.

"Because," the vampire explained. "He was so focused on forcing himself to leave the apartment, to leave you, that he forgot to take off his fuzzy headband." 

And it was the thought of Seokjin, poised and elegant in his ironed work clothes but with his hair pushed back with a forgotten, damp headband that had Jeongguk throwing his head back and bursting into bright peals of laughter.

The day passed quickly. As promised, Jeongguk was swept up and sat in the living room as Jimin flew around, hanging up blankets and lights to have a 'proper movie day'. 

"Someone stay with Jeongguk at all times," Yoongi rambled from his place by the TV, his arms crossed. "He's lovesick, which means he needs physical contact so he doesn't start feeling too ill again. Little one, if you begin feeling nauseous again, call me right away, okay? And try to eat small snacks before dinner. And keep your socks on, don't open the windows, and—"

"Hyung, doesn't your shift start at noon?" Taehyung glanced at the watch on his wrist. "It's already twelve past—"

"Don't worry, hyung, we'll keep Jeongguk safe and sound," Jimin flew over to plant a kiss on Yoongi's downturned lips. 

"Yoongi hyung, let's go," Namjoon called.

"Another bath will do you good," Yoongi continued, striding over to Taehyung and Jeongguk to kiss them goodbye. "Cold water might hurt your stomach, so don't get it from the fridge, okay?" 

"Hyung," Jeongguk laughed. "Don't worry about me. I'll be okay."

Yoongi just pursed his lips, then leaned in and pressed his cheek right against Jeongguk's and nuzzled them together. Jeongguk fell silent. He forgot that was how dragons said 'hello' and 'goodbye'. He remembered his mother doing that every morning before he left for school. His heart ached as he leaned into the movement.

Then Yoongi was pulling back, and Namjoon was ruffling his hair, and the pair were leaving the apartment as well.

"Finally," Jimin groaned. "I haven't seen Yoongi hyung worry like this since that one time Namjoon hyung got in a fight with a Scylla and almost died." 

Jeongguk gaped at him. Jimin just tossed a throw blanket over his lap and flew over to the basket of movies, bringing them over for Jeongguk to peruse.

"That's a story for another time, baby," Jimin dismissed. "For now, movies!"

He was beginning to realize that being part of this weyr would mean...chaos. It was the only way he could describe it. Despite the short amount of time he's been here, there was always something going on — singing or playful arguments or pretend-wrestling or slow hugs.

Though it was overwhelming, it was hopeful, too. Jeongguk had lived almost his entire life in a mundane routine. Every single day went exactly as it was supposed to, because he allowed himself no room for more. But now, Jeongguk was skimming the spines of colorful DVD cases (Hoseok had fondly informed Jeongguk that Namjoon thinks streaming services rot your brain, so they didn't subscribe to any of them), so far out of his routine that he could hardly recognize himself.

And all the better for it. 

"What does Jin hyung do? For work?" he suddenly asked, suddenly realizing he wanted to know the answer more than he wanted to start a movie.

Hoseok came from the kitchen with four steaming mugs of tea.

"He's a big hotshot on the Council," Jimin answered, fluttering down to sit on the coffee table in front of the couch, facing them.

"The council of what?" Jeongguk tipped his head to the side. 

Taehyung let out a deep laugh, putting his arm over Jeongguk's shoulders.

"The Council, honey," Taehyung said. "The Council of Supernaturals?" 

Jeongguk's jaw dropped. 

"Truly?" 

"Truly," Hoseok handed him his mug of tea and sat beside him on the couch. "It's taken him a while, but he's very well-respected now."

"But—but—what does everybody think he is?" Jeongguk stuttered, in disbelief.

Despite what Hoseok said, everybody on The Council was well-respected. They were the lawmakers, the peacekeepers. There was no higher position of power for a magical creature than a seat on The Council.

"He parades quite well as a vampire," Jimin laughed. "He's got the face for it, don't you think?"

Jeongguk was too shocked to answer. Here he was, hiding himself away, too scared to accept any jobs that would require him to show up in person. Meanwhile, Seokjin was exposing himself daily, not just to anybody, but the most influential and powerful creatures in the world. And, apparently, he was one of those creatures as well.

"He hopes that one day, he'll be able to live freely again," Hoseok said gently. "Through his position on The Council, he wants to make the world better for Yoongi, for himself. And now, for you."

"Oh," Jeongguk said. "That's...hyung is very brave."

"He is," Jimin agreed. "And so is Yoongi hyung, and so are you, Jeongguk." 

Jeongguk didn't feel very brave, but he just swallowed the lump in his throat, and pulled out the movie he'd been eyeing from the start.

"Ah, a Marvel fan," Taehyung said as Jimin went to put the DVD in the player. "Marry me?" 

Jeongguk was jostled as Hoseok leaned over to shove at the vampire. They spent the day like that, Jeongguk eventually laying down and being spooned by a very happy Jimin. The fae didn't even complain as his wings were pressed against the back of the couch. He just wrapped his arms around Jeongguk and pressed fond kisses to the dragon's ear, giggling when Jeongguk squirmed at the ticklish sensation. 

When Seokjin came home, he found them like that, and Jeongguk didn't hesitate to sit up and wrap the elder in a hug.

"I missed you," he confessed, tightening his arms as much as he could around Seokjin.

Seokjin held him back just as tight. "I missed you more, Jeongguk."

Later that night, after everybody was home and had eaten dinner together, Jeongguk snuck towards the coat rack. 

He easily found the jacket Seokjin had slipped on this morning, and he pushed his hand into its pockets. His hand wrapped around the fuzzy, elastic headband, and Jeongguk pulled it out with a victorious smile. Running it once over his cheek, he deemed it acceptable and clutched onto it with glee, the itch that's been building inside of him all day sated. 

Namjoon was sleeping with him that night, and when Jeongguk came back to bed to lift his pillow and place the headband right next to the ring and confetti, the hydra didn't say a word. He just watched Jeongguk fondly, his dimples showing even in the dim light.

Once Jeongguk laid down, Namjoon pulled him in close, slinging a heavy arm around his waist.

"Happy?" Namjoon murmured, running a hand through Jeongguk's hair rhythmically, his legs tangling with Jeongguk's. And even though Jeongguk knew the hydra was referring to his hoard's new addition, his reply was an answer that meant so much more.

"Yes," Jeongguk whispered. "I'm so happy."

☀

Jeongguk was kneeling beside his bed, his hoard laid out in front of him on the mattress where he was propping his head up on his arms. A couple of days had passed, and their weyr was settling into a nice routine. Each morning, Jeongguk would wake up and watch them get ready for work, and then spend time with whoever was staying home that day. Each night, at least one of his hyungs would come in and hold him through the night, fighting off the worst of his lovesick symptoms. He'd already brushed his teeth and used Jimin's candy-apple-scented lotion all over his body, and his body was tucked away in soft, printed pajamas that Seokjin had given him from his own closet. 

The apartment was quieting down, and Jeongguk was utterly content as he sighed, his eyes growing sleepy as he reached out a gentle hand to poke at the ring, adjusting it just so so that the lamplight cast it in a pretty golden glow. 

"Jeongguk-ah?"

Taehyung appeared in the doorway, clutching a pillow to his chest. He was barefaced and damp, but even then he was beautiful.

"Hyung?"

Biting his lip, Taehyung stared at Jeongguk for a few moments before patting at the pillow he was carrying. 

"Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Jeongguk inhaled silently, a tentative happiness making his heart begin to flutter.

"Yes!" he said, quickly reaching out to gather up his hoard and clutch them in-between his hands. "Of course you can."

Taehyung beamed at him, and bound over to the bed and flopped down on the side Jeongguk never slept on. 

"C'mere, we'll cuddle," Taehyung wriggled underneath the duvet and then opened his arms for him. 

And though the vampire has given Jeongguk plenty of hugs since he's been here, they've never held each other like this before. Cheeks warming, Jeongguk didn't hesitate before crawling towards Taehyung's chest, humming when Taehyung's arms gently wrapped around him. 

He shoved his hoard underneath his pillow and sighed in contentment. 

"You're warm," Jeongguk muttered as Taehyung leaned over to turn off the lamp. 

"I just fed from Yoongi hyung," Taehyung admitted. "Dragon blood always warms me up the longest." 

Jeongguk nodded, his mind suddenly conjuring up images of Taehyung with Yoongi, lapping at the older dragon's pale neck. It made something warm coil in his gut, instead of the fear he thought it would bring. 

"Does it taste different to other creatures?" Jeongguk asked shyly. 

Taehyung was rubbing his chin back and forth on the top of Jeongguk's head. 

"Every creature tastes a little different, yes," Taehyung explained. "Fae blood is lighter, like a soda pop or sparkling wine. But you dragons are nothing but smoky warmth. Like mulled wine cooked over a campfire."

Jeongguk hummed in interest.

Taehyung giggled. "Is it weird, to talk about your blood like food? I'm sorry." 

"Don't be sorry," Jeongguk said firmly. "It's no different to us describing our foods that we enjoy." 

Sighing, Taehyung raised a hand to scrunch his long fingers into the hair at the back of Jeongguk's head. 

"How are you so perfect, hmm?" Taehyung murmured, his voice going deep. "Do you understand how lovely you are?"

"Hyung..." Jeongguk sputtered out, entirely embarrassed at the sudden praise. 

Taehyung laughed, squeezing him tight against his chest. "Just the loveliest. I don't know how I thought you were dangerous in the beginning." 

Jeongguk fiddled with the buttons on Taehyung's pajamas, plucking at them with his fingers. After a few moments of silence, where they could hear Hoseok singing softly from the bathroom next door, Jeongguk steeled his shoulders. 

"Taehyungie hyung?"

"Yes, precious." 

"Did––" Jeongguk bit his lip, unsure if he wanted to know the answer to his own question.

"What is it?" Taehyung coaxed, pressing his hand against Jeongguk's cheek and running his thumb along his eyebrow. "I'll tell you anything you want." 

Jeongguk blinked, brows scrunching together. "Did a dragon ever do something to you? Something bad? Is that why...is that why you were so angry with me, in the beginning?" 

"Oh," Taehyung breathed out. "Jeongguk, listen to hyung well, okay?" 

The vampire pulled back, the red of his eyes strangely beautiful in the darkness. Jeongguk thought of the blood moons that came every once in a while, casting the earth in a rich warm light. 

"I never had anything against dragons, baby," Taehyung explained. "Why I was mad that day...it wasn't because you were a dragon. You could have been a fae, a werewolf, even another vampire, and I think I still would have acted the same way."

"Oh," Jeongguk said, voice small. 

"And I was so angry because, deep down, I was scared," Taehyung said. "I've been in a coven before finding Jin hyung's weyr, and I didn't know it back then, but not all families are as safe as this one. Do you understand what I'm saying, Jeonggukie?" 

The tiniest chirp of distress left Jeongguk's throat. "They...they hurt you?" 

"Every day," Taehyung confirmed, an ageless melancholy aching in his throat. "And for centuries, I lived like that, thinking that that was what love is." 

A great grief swelled up in Jeongguk then, thinking of Taehyung with bruises on his skin, living with raised voices and hurtful names. 

"And so when I finally, finally left them...I was lost for a long time. I had to run for a long time. It wasn't until I found Jimin, and through him I found the rest of the weyr, that I realized that the life I had been living wasn't –– wasn't actually living."

"I'm sorry," Jeongguk whispered, wriggling closer to press every part of himself against Taehyung, wanting to be as close as possible. He wriggled his socked foot against Taehyung's ankle, nudged his knees into the vampire's thighs. 

"I'm sorry, honey," Taehyung insisted. "Because of that, I became protective of the weyr to a fault. I used to be worse, believe it or not. After knowing hurt like that...I couldn't stand the thought of any of my weyr feeling hurt. Ever. I worried for them, every moment of every day. When Seokjin first got onto The Council, I spent an entire month trailing him to work, sitting outside of the building, and then following him home, just to make sure he was okay. Whenever one of them were out a little later than expected, I would tear the city apart looking for them. I was...a menace, to use Yoongi hyung's words. They used to have to change clothes before coming home because I couldn't stand all the scents of other people they'd collect throughout the day."

Jeongguk giggled a little at that.

"I understand now," Jeongguk said. "You were just afraid, of losing the love you deserve, after not having it for so long." 

"Yea," Taehyung's voice cracked, and he pressed a kiss to Jeongguk's hair. "Yea, I am." 

They fell into silence then, and Jeongguk found one of Taehyung's hands and held onto it, hoping to comfort the vampire. 

And am I part of it? Jeongguk thought to himself. That great, beautiful love you'd give anything to protect...am I part of it, too?

As he drifted off to sleep as Taehyung rubbed his thumb back and forth on his hand, Jeongguk heard his bedroom door creak open quietly.

"Shh," Taehyung immediately said, not even twisting to turn towards the newcomer. "He just fell asleep." 

And, soothed by the deep rumble of Taehyung's voice, Jeongguk didn't stay awake long enough to hear the person's response.

☀

Namjoon came home one day in a sullen mood.

It was one of the rare days where Jeongguk was left home alone for the morning. He was sitting on one of the kitchen barstools, one knee tucked up underneath his chin as he sketched peacefully with the new charcoal pencils Yoongi had brought for him. Namjoon shed his shoes by the front door and then walked past the kitchen without a word to Jeongguk, seeming to pass by without even noticing the dragon was there. There was a tenseness to his shoulders that made Jeongguk wary as he watched Namjoon stalk out of sight, and Jeongguk listened as Namjoon's footsteps made his way to his room before the door was shutting a little harder than necessary. 

Peering at the clock, Jeongguk bit his lip, noting that it was an hour past lunch. Normally, Namjoon would be in the kitchen heating up the leftovers that Seokjin left in the fridge, a sticky note with his name posted on top of the container. Sliding down from the stool, Jeongguk peeked into the refrigerator to find that the container was still in there, uneaten. Jeongguk hesitated, unsure of what he should do.

It seemed as if Namjoon wanted to be alone, but it didn't sit well with Jeongguk to have the hydra skip a meal, either. Jeongguk also remembered that morning, where Namjoon had rushed out of the house at the crack of dawn with nothing but a hot coffee in his hands. 

As a music producer and lyricist, Namjoon worked sporadic hours, sometimes leaving the house in the middle of the night and occasionally coming home before others have even left for work. Today, nobody else was home other than Jeongguk. 

Jeongguk fidgeted more, torn. He didn't want to overstep any boundaries, but he knew that if Seokjin were home, the older dragon would be barging into Namjoon's room and making sure he ate. With hesitant fingers, Jeongguk reached for Namjoon's prepped meal and popped it into the microwave. He watched as the food spun around and around, the sticky note with Namjoon's name in a heart folded up again and again in-between Jeongguk's clammy fingers. Right before the microwave could beep loudly when it was finished, Jeongguk clicked 'cancel' so that the relative silence of the apartment wouldn't be shattered. 

Maybe Namjoon felt sick, or had a headache. Jeongguk brought his sleeves over his hands and pulled out the hot glassware. Digging into the cutlery cabinet, Jeongguk stuck a spoon (his favorite spoon to eat with –– everything from the size and the shape was extremely pleasing to him, and he wanted to keep it for his hoard if only Seokjin would allow him) into the food and padded over to Namjoon's door.

"Hyung?" Jeongguk called hesitatingly. "Are you sleeping?"

There was no response, though Jeongguk was unsure if Namjoon heard him with how quiet his voice was. Jeongguk lifted one hand to knock gently. There was rustling then, and Namjoon's muffled voice called for him to come in. He found the hydra sprawled across his large bed, sitting up when he saw Jeongguk there.

"Jeonggukie," Namjoon's voice went soft when he saw who was there. "What's the matter, honey? Why the long face?"

Jeongguk had no idea that his worry was so apparent in his expression, and he valiantly tried to school it.

"Are –– is everything okay, hyung?"

Namjoon's brows pulled together, and he reached a hand out for Jeongguk.

"Of course," the hydra said gently. "It hasn't been the best day, but everything's fine."

"You didn't eat lunch," Jeongguk said, inching closer to present Namjoon with his heated food. "You came in and you didn't say hi and you didn't eat your lunch."

Namjoon's gaze gentled. "Oh, little one, I'm sorry." 

He reached out and took the tray from Jeongguk, placing the food on his bedside table. The hydra then opened his arms invitingly, and Jeongguk only hesitated for a split second before he was falling forward, planting his weight with a quiet oomph onto Namjoon's broad chest. The hydra's scent was warm and thick from laying in his bed, and Jeongguk inhaled deeply. 

"One of my clients was just being difficult, and I had to scrap an entire song I've been working on for the past few weeks," Namjoon explained, squeezing his arms around Jeongguk in a hug. "I didn't notice I'd passed by you, baby. I'm sorry I didn't say hi."

"You don't have to feel obligated to say hi every time!" Jeongguk blushed, not having meant to let that slip out. He didn't want any of the weyr to think he was being needy. He didn't want to annoy them by clinging. 

"I never want to walk past you and not say hi," Namjoon argued. "How could I see your pretty little face and not give you a cuddle?"

To emphasize his point, Namjoon shook Jeongguk's body from side to side, eliciting a laugh from Jeongguk. 

"I was worried," Jeongguk finally confessed. "I thought...I thought you were very angry, or very sick, or very sad. And I don't want you to be any of those things."

Namjoon pressed Jeongguk even deeper into his arms, letting his lips rest on the crown of Jeongguk's head.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," Namjoon said, his voice a deep croon. "What did we do to deserve you, sweet boy?" 

Jeongguk buried his face into Namjoon's neck.

"It's me who doesn't deserve you," he whispered inaudibly. 

Namjoon didn't ask Jeongguk to repeat himself, just ran his long fingers through Jeongguk's tangled hair and then sat them up. 

"Should I eat now?"

"Oh!" Jeongguk removed himself from Namjoon's lap, but sat so that his knees were pressing against the hydra's, both of their legs folded underneath them. "Yes, please. I can go heat it up again if it got cold, or I can run and get you a drink if you're thirsty. Or––"

"It's okay, Jeongguk," Namjoon laughed, bringing the tray to his lap. "This is perfect. You're perfect." 

Namjoon ate voraciously, and the last of Jeongguk's worries left his body. Though there were faint smudges of fatigue still lined purple underneath the hydra's eyes, Namjoon looked infinitely better than he had coming into the apartment. The lines of his body were no longer held so tight that Jeongguk was afraid he might snap like an over-tuned violin string. 

"Thank you for checking in on me," Namjoon's dimples were set deep in his cheeks as he put the empty tray aside, and there was a tiny smear of sauce on the corner of his lip. Jeongguk stared at it until Namjoon licked it away. 

"You all take such good care of me," Jeongguk said. "I want to take care of you all, too. I...I don't like the thought of any of you hurting."

Hoseok came home next, and he wandered around the apartment until he found the two of them napping in Namjoon's bed. Jeongguk was tucked into the hydra's side, the two of them breathing peacefully. Hoseok walked quietly over to the bed, a grin on his face as he stared at the two. Their long limbs were sprawled all over each other, Namjoon's hand cupping the back of Jeongguk's neck and Jeongguk's socked foot somehow shoved into the pant leg of Namjoon's sweatpants. 

Warmth swelled in his chest until he felt like it could burst from his skin and douse the room in light. Leaning down quietly, Hoseok pressed a tender kiss to Namjoon's forehead, then Jeongguk's. When he pulled back, Namjoon's eyes were slitted open and looking up at him, bleary but so content.

A low crooning sound began to rumble from the hydra's chest, and Jeongguk unconsciously snuggled in closer to the sound. 

Hoseok reached out to tuck the blankets a little more securely around their shoulders, and then quietly left the room, slowly closing the room door. The rumbling of Namjoon's happy crooning was audible even through the walls. 

☀

"Hyung," Jeongguk looked at Yoongi with huge eyes. "I want to see your hoard." 

Two weeks had passed since Jeongguk's been staying with them, and steadily, they've been getting to see more and more of the fledgling's personality. Though Jeongguk's healing, both physically and emotionally, wasn't linear, the weyr lived for the moments where Jeongguk seemed to be more and more comfortable with them. When he would demand cuddles, or steal food from their plate, or follow them through their morning routines. The young dragon seemed to be getting used to asking for things, and he always did it with an expectant little smile, as if he believed his hyungs were capable of everything.

And for him, perhaps they were. Yoongi certainly wanted to be.

"Okay," Yoongi agreed. "As long as you agree not to nip any for your own." 

Jeongguk gasped. "Hyung, I'd never!" 

"I'm just teasing," Yoongi laughed, holding onto Jeongguk's hand and leading him to a spare closet. "Honestly, I think I'd be okay with you taking things from it."

Jeongguk stayed silent at that, and Yoongi almost regretted saying what he did.

It was — a heated confession, between dragons. Older dragons, though less so than fledglings, were still quite possessive with their hoards –– with everyone except for those they considered theirs.

Yoongi wouldn't mind if Jeongguk took from his hoard because he cared for the fledgling so much that his instincts thought of Jeongguk as an extension of himself. The same went for the rest of the weyr, which was why Seokjin and Yoongi kept their hoards in the same place. 

He opened the closet. It was a walk-in closet, originally intended for coats and storage boxes, but now was overtaken by everything and anything that caught the dragons' attention. Jeongguk gasped in delight at the sight of it.

It was filled with shining jewels, meticulously presented in glass cases. There were old sweaters that the dragons had taken from the other weyr members, books, plant pots, stacks of blankets, vases, vintage clocks, paintings, even a Christmas-themed toy train track and was set up on the floor. "It's beautiful," Jeongguk breathed out, eyes darting everywhere as if he couldn't take in everything fast enough.

"It's a mess," Yoongi laughed. "But it's ours. Everybody always complains when we take their things to add to the hoard, but they never remove it once it's here."

A surge of satisfaction ran through Yoongi at the sight of his fledgling admiring his hoard. It made him feel as if he'd impressed Jeongguk enough to stay, despite knowing that he was already part of their weyr now. Unable to help himself, Yoongi wrapped his arms around Jeongguk's waist from behind, resting his chin on the fledgling's shoulder. Jeongguk relaxed back into him, silent as he took everything in.

And it was all — it was all just right. Yoongi wasn't a romantic, but he was charmed by the fate of it all.

By the pure magic it must have taken for them to find Jeongguk. By how perfectly Jeongguk fit in with them. By how easily Jeongguk wriggled into his heart. 

"Jeongguk," Yoongi said, turning the fledgling in his arms to face him. "Jeongguk, will you move in with us? Officially? You can cancel your lease, pick up your old hoard, and...this can be home, if you want it to be."

Watching Jeongguk's smile spread across his face was like dipping a brush full of paint in clear water. The beauty of it — it spread in swirling color, and Yoongi couldn't look away. 

"Yes, please," Jeongguk whispered.

Yoongi huffed out a breath, his own lips curling up as he pressed his forehead to Jeongguk's. 

"Jeongguk," he said again. "Jeongguk-ah, can I kiss you?" 

This time, the color was everywhere, in everything, Jeongguk was incandescent and Yoongi's always loved bright things. Jeongguk's eyes fluttered like butterflies finding spring.

"Yes, please," he repeated. 

They leaned in, and when their lips slotted together, they both sighed as if in relief. Jeongguk curled his arms around Yoongi's shoulders, and everything about him was warm. They kissed until Jeongguk looked drunk off of it, the flush high on his cheeks and his legs unsteady. 

Yoongi thought it was the most beautiful he'd ever seen him.

Someone called for them from the living room, and they broke apart, their hands automatically clasping. Yoongi lead them away from the closet, but while his back was turned, Jeongguk reached back to touch an item reverently. 

The coat Jeongguk was wearing the night Seokjin found him was hanging there, right in the center of their hoard.

☀

"Stick your tongue out for me, little love," Yoongi said, his warm hand entirely cupping Jeongguk's jaw. 

Jeongguk felt the thermometer slip under his tongue, and then Yoongi was coaxing his jaw shut. 

"Hold still for me." 

From behind Yoongi's shoulder, Jeongguk could see Jimin and Hoseok making faces at him. A laugh escaped his mouth, and the thermometer fell with a clink onto the floor. Letting out a long sigh, Yoongi whirled and pointed at the fae and siren with a stern finger.

"Out!" Yoongi demanded. "You're disturbing the patient!" 

Upon being caught, Jimin and Hoseok's faces immediately became forlorn, lips jutting out into wheedling pouts. 

"We're sorry, hyung!" Jimin said. "We'll stop, we promise. We're here for baby's moral support!"

"He doesn't need moral support," Yoongi grouched as he bent for the fallen thermometer and grabbing a different one from the kit laid out beside Jeongguk on the bed. "I'm just checking his temperature and his vitals, not stabbing him with a needle." 

This time, when Yoongi slipped the new one in, Jeongguk pointedly did not make eye contact with anyone in the room. 

"You're a bit cold again today," Yoongi said once the thermometer beeped, frowning down at the temperature displayed on the screen. "Are you feeling okay, sweetheart?" 

Jeongguk nodded vigorously. "I feel fine!" 

Yoongi didn't look convinced, tearing the blood pressure cuff off of his arm and beginning to pack everything up. "Try to take it easy today, okay? Get some cuddles from whoever's home." 

"I'm always being cuddled," Jeongguk stated, matter-of-fact.

Yoongi laughed fondly, and leaned forward top press a warm kiss to Jeongguk's cheek. "Good, then we're doing our jobs as your hyungs and weyr." 

Jimin took the task very seriously, because he was flying over to them and immediately latching onto Jeongguk's back, his arms winding around Jeongguk's neck from behind. 

"Don't worry, Yoongi hyung," Jimin said. "Hoseokie hyung and I are staying home all day today. Nothing will happen to our fledgling."

"Aren't you lucky," Yoongi said fondly, leaning in to snatch a kiss from Jimin before he was hoisting his bag over his shoulder and heading towards the door. "My shift isn't too long today, but call me if anybody needs anything, okay?" 

And Jeongguk thought it was unnecessary, how much Yoongi fretted. He didn't feel ill enough to have to call Yoongi home from his shift at the hospital – though he was convinced that some of the others would be dialing the physician's number the moment he complained about a headache. 

The day passed in leisure, with little snacks Seokjin prepared in chilled tupperware containers and a new drama that Jimin had gotten the entire weyr hooked on. Jeongguk set down the container of homemade chocolate pretzels, his gut feeling a little off with how many of them he'd eaten. Pressing a hand to his stomach, Jeongguk squeezed his eyes shut in discomfort.

"Honey?" Hoseok was immediately reaching for him, right next to him on the couch. "Are you alright?"

"Yea, just ate those pretzels too fast," Jeongguk half-giggled at himself. "They were too yummy."

"Jin hyung's snacks will do that to you," Jimin joked, though he'd flown over and settled on his knees by the couch, pressing his own hand over Jeongguk's stomach gently. "Need a cup of water?"

"I can get it," Jeongguk stood, a little embarrassed at how he was being coddled over something as small as indigestion. "Don't worry. I–"

He'd taken a few steps away from the couch and towards the kitchen, the two of them staying in their spots but watching him, but in his haste to reassure them that everything was fine, Jeongguk hadn't noticed just how blurry his vision had gotten. 

"I..."

"Jeongguk?"

His hearing was beginning to fade in and out, and the nausea in his stomach turned to a familiar dizziness. His knees buckled and he fell, catching his arm on something sharp on the way down.

"Jeongguk!" 

Jeongguk's consciousness slipped for just a few moments before he was aware again, cradled in Hoseok's arms as the siren held him into his lap, crouching over him with wide, concerned eyes.

"There you are, sweetheart," Hoseok's tone was soothing, but the way he was gripping Jeongguk showed his anxiety. "Can you keep your eyes on me, baby? What happened, did you get dizzy?" 

"Mm'yea," Jeongguk slurred, his eyelids drooping heavily. 

"Does anything hurt? Did you hit your head on the way down, baby?" 

"No," Jeongguk mouthed, fatigue having his eyes slip shut even as Hoseok cupped his palm over his cheek and asked him to stay awake. 

Jeongguk didn't know how he'd grown so tired and weak again all of a sudden. He really had felt fine that morning. 

Yoongi was going to be so mad.

He slipped in and out of consciousness then, only half-aware of what was going on. He could hear Jimin's voice, frantic as he talked to somebody on the phone down the hall. Hoseok was keeping up a steady stream of words directed at Jeongguk, but Jeongguk could only process a few of his sentences. Jeongguk felt shifting and then Hoseok was lifting him, and he was carefully being moved to a bed. The covers were tucked all around him and Hoseok couldn't take his hands off him, constantly checking his forehead with the back of his hand, or cupping his palm against the side of Jeongguk's neck.

"S'okay," Jeongguk slurred out in a gusty exhale. Even just the effort of saying the word made him want to sleep for a hundred years. 

"You're okay, Jeongguk," Hoseok said, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead. "Hyung's on the way home. You're okay, you're gonna be okay."

Jeongguk slipped into sleep then, too tired to even want for his hoard. He woke later feeling like he'd just spent the past few hours laying on a carousel, spinning around and around. The room swam as he opened his eyes, and a tiny whine built up in his throat at how dizzy he was even laying down.
"Awake, precious?" 

The familiar, comforting sound of Seokjin's voice made Jeongguk's throat close up. Refusing to cry, he just held out a hand, desperately and all at once needing his hyung's warmth to hold.

"It's okay," Seokjin squeezed his hand in his, leaning down so that Jeongguk could see his face. "It was scary, wasn't it? Hoseok and Jimin told me you were very brave."

"Missed you," Jeongguk whimpered out. 

Seokjin's face softened. "I missed you too, little one. I wish I'd stayed home today. Yoongi texted me telling me you had a bit of a low temperature from the morning."

Brows bunching together, Jeongguk let out a little breath. "Is he mad?"

Seokjin's face twisted with concern. 

"Why would he be mad, baby?"

"He told me to take it easy," Jeongguk said, voice small. 

"Jimin said you guys were just watching a drama before you fainted," Seokjin said. "That is taking it easy, bug."

Biting his lip, Jeongguk squeezed his eyes shut, a strange sense of guilt still coiling in his stomach.

"Hey," Seokjin leaned over him and pressed a hand to his cheek. Jeongguk leaned into it immediately. "Even if you had been doing jumping jacks in the living room and parkour-ing off the apartment walls, nobody in the weyr would be mad at you for being sick. Do you understand? This isn't your fault, Jeongguk."

"I just feel bad," Jeongguk whispered. "You all always have to be taking care of me, and..."

"And we do it because we want to," Yoongi's voice interjected. 

Jeongguk jumped, having not even heard Yoongi coming into the room. 

"Jimin was in hysterics when he called me earlier," Yoongi said as he made his way over to sit beside Seokjin on the bed, leaning over so he could place a hand on Jeongguk's blanketed hip. "And I'm not saying that to make you feel guilty. I'm telling you so you understand just how much we care. We want you to get better, and we want to be the ones helping you." 

"Was taking it easy," Jeongguk said. "I promise."

Yoongi chuckled, squeezing Jeongguk's hip. "I believe you, precious. Sometimes lovesick bodies just have bad days. I think today was just one of those, and it wasn't anybody's fault. Yea?"

"Yea," Jeongguk sighed out, relieved. 

"I'd never be mad at you," Yoongi whispered, voice aching with something so tender it almost hurt. "No matter what you did, Jeongguk, I'd never be angry with you." 

If Jeongguk was feeling a little better, he'd make a joke, downplay the devotion that the two older dragons were looking at him with. The warmth of their affection felt like a beating heart squeezed between his hands, and Jeongguk couldn't help but fear that one day it'd turn to stone.

"Now," Seokjin said. "How are you feeling? Still dizzy?"

"Yea," Jeongguk admitted. "I think I just need to keep laying."

"Rest for as long as you need," Yoongi said. "I have some anti-nausea medicine that I can blend in with your tea. And we'll both sleep in bed with you tonight, keep you warm."

Jeongguk smiled shyly, nose scrunching. 

"Sounds nice."

The bedroom door creaked open, and Jeongguk could see a frustrated, pursed mouth sticking its way into the crack.

"Can we come in yet?" Jimin whined, his lips mashed against the door as he spoke. 

Jeongguk could imagine him pressed up against it, listening the entire time. A small giggle erupted from his throat.

The door opened and Jimin was zooming in, his wings fluttering rapidly as he flew. "Sounds like a yes! Kookie!" 

Jimin clambered over Seokjin's lap to get closer to Jeongguk, pressing their cheeks together and nuzzling like a cat.

"I was so scared," Jimin said, voice turning serious. "You really worried me, Jeongguk."

"I'm sorry," Jeongguk said.

Pulling back, Jimin's brows were furrowed, lips pursed again into a pout.

"Don't apologize anymore. Just focus on getting better. Okay?"

"Okay," Jeongguk smiled weakly. 

"Stop smothering him, Jimin-ah," Hoseok said fondly, peeking at Jeongguk from over the fae's wings. "Here, honey. I have your tea and your hoard." 

Jeongguk perked up at his beloved items, and he hurried to take them and place them underneath the pillow. Even more of his anxiety quelled, and as he sipped on the warm tea Jeongguk felt his eyes drooping again. His consciousness slipped from him like the steam rising off his tea, and Jeongguk felt gentle hands catch the warm mug before his limp weight was being led down towards the pillow by large, steady hands. 

☀

Jeongguk watched as Jimin drove. They were on the way back to his old apartment building to grab his things. 

The fae, what with his dainty wings and cherubic face, was a very aggressive driver. He used his horn liberally, swearing colorfully at anybody who got in his way. Jeongguk was clutching onto his seat with desperate fingers as the car swerved in and out of traffic.

His current  hoard was stashed safely in-between his thighs, though he's had to save the ring from rolling away under the car seat multiple times. 

"I was waiting for that spot before you, asshole!" Jimin shouted through the open window as a car slid into the spot before he could.

"Jimin-ah, you're being a menace," Taehyung commented from the backseat, though something from his tone said that he thought it was amusing.

Namjoon and Seokjin, however, were much less amused, judging from the pained looks on their faces. 

"Jimin, I knew I shouldn't have let you drive," Seokjin sighed.

Jimin's face twisted, and before an argument could start, Jeongguk cut in.

"It's okay, hyung!" he said. "You can just put on your emergency lights and wait for me at the curb." 

Jimin grumbled but acquiesced, pulling over in front of Jeongguk's old apartment building. Jeongguk placed his hoard in the cup holder, heart racing in excitement at the thought of adding it to his old hoard. 

He couldn't wait to show it to everyone, all his little trinkets and treasures. Even though most of the weyr weren't dragons, they were good at ooh-ing and aah-ing at all the right moments, even if they sometimes didn't entirely understand the logistics of hoarding and everything that went into it.

When Jeongguk opened his door to get out, Seokjin opened his as well.

"Hyung," Jeongguk paused, something nostalgic and bittersweet making him hesitate. "I think I...need to go up alone, for a little bit." 

To say goodbye to a life that wasn't good to him, but it was still his life. Though Jeongguk would never miss his past of loneliness and hiding out, there was a part of him that needed to make peace with the end of it, by himself.

"Okay, precious," Seokjin said gently. "Call us up when you're ready, okay? We'll help you carry your treasures down."

"Okay," Jeongguk said, relieved that Seokjin relented so easily.

This was the first time Jeongguk had been outside since Seokjin had found him, and he knew the eldest dragon was feeling extra protective today. He gave a little wave, then made his way to the familiar entrance. He passed by the always-broken elevator and took the stairs up three flights. He stopped in front of the door that had been his for so long. 

Things were so different now. He was so different now. Slowly, he opened the door wide, and took his apartment in. It was small, not nearly as nice as the penthouse his weyr lived in, so his hoard was scattered in large piles all across the living room.

Mounds of jewelry and plushies and books stacked into little mountains.

The sight of his hoard filled Jeongguk with so much relief his eyes glowed gold. It wasn't natural for a dragon, especially a fledgling, to be apart from his treasures for so long. They were his comfort, they were what made him feel at home.

He was about to step in, but then a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Hyung," Jeongguk laughed, part of him having already expected Seokjin to follow him up anyway. "I haven't called you up yet."

But when he turned, it wasn't Seokjin standing there, touching him. It was his landlord, Gwan Manshik, a middle-aged werewolf who was known around the building for his greed, who never had a kind word to say to anyone. Jeongguk had always avoided him like the plague, but he was here now, at the worst time.

Manshik looked angry, and the first thing Jeongguk realized was that he was late with his rent. But when the wolf's face morphed from anger, to confusion, to something sinister, it took Jeongguk half a second to realize that his eyes were still gold. He'd turned expecting Seokjin, and he'd learned so much safety with the weyr that he'd already forgotten just how cautious he had to be in the outside world.

He'd turned, and his eyes were still gold, his pupils slitted in a way that only dragon eyes could be. 

Manshik looked from Jeongguk's eyes, to the apartment open behind him. On a regular day, it would've just looked like Jeongguk was messy. A little strange, to have so many things piled up, but there were stranger things in the world.

But Jeongguk saw the moment it clicked. His golden, slitted eyes, and behind him, his hoard. Before Jeongguk could run, there was a clawed hand wrapping tightly around his throat.

"Dragon," the Manshik breathed out. "You're a dragon."

☀

In the center of Jeongguk's hoard, perhaps his most prized possession in the midst of even his most expensive jewels, there is a book. It is full of love poems, words fading thin with how often he ran his fingers over the ink.

At night, he'd mouth the poems to the quiet of his room, and wonder if the walls were listening. Would the words escape out his open window, pick their way gingerly across telephone wires like hopping birds, and find a home? 

Because there was no place for them, in Jeongguk's apartment, as much as he coveted that little leather-bound book. The words had no tender heart to lie in, no lips to stick to. Jeongguk recited those love poems like a prayer, but nobody had ever answered. 

Until, until, when he least expected it, somebody did. Perhaps, that entire time, those silent words weren't looking for a home, but pulling one towards him. Perhaps they had pulled and pulled until the weight of the universe shifted and brought Seokjin right into his lap. Brought an entire weyr into his lap, kind and attentive and so accepting of him it made him ache.

And it was with this thought, this realization, that Jeongguk sucked in a deep breath and screamed. 

"Hyung!" Jeongguk screamed. "Seokjin hyung!"

He allowed himself, in that moment, to ask for help. To reach for it with desperate fingers instead of shying away, to need it and to not be ashamed of needing it.

Manshik growled at him, fingers tightening around Jeongguk's throat, eyes flashing violet.

"Shut up!"

Jeongguk thrashed, arms reaching up to tear at the hand suffocating him. He was being manhandled, feet stumbling as the werewolf used his grip and slammed him into the wall. Jeongguk bore it with a wince, heart pounding as his vision blurred from lack of air.

"A dragon, living in one of my apartments this entire time," Manshik said, his voice manic as he stared into Jeongguk's golden eyes. "I'll be fucking damned."

Unable to remember the last time he'd done this, Jeongguk let his nails elongate into long, sharp talons. He dug them deep into the werewolf's arm, feeling hot blood rush between his fingers. Manshik howled with pain, releasing his grip on Jeongguk's neck in favor of shaking him away. Jeongguk fell with a sickening gasp, air rushing in so quickly he felt nauseous with it. Though he didn't have the lung capacity to scream, Jeongguk murmured "hyung" under his breath over and over again, despite knowing there was no way any of them could hear him from all the way outside.

Before the wolf could lash out again, Jeongguk lunged for him instead. Fueled by pure desperation, he tackled Manshik to the ground with a scream. 

"I will kill you, dragon," Manshik spat up at him, looking so angry he was practically foaming at the fangs.

He pulled an arm back and slammed his fist into the side of Jeongguk's head, knocking him off-balance with a small cry.

"Gwan Manshik, the slayer of the last dragon alive," the wolf laughed as he easily rolled Jeongguk off of him, his strength far surpassing the fledgling's. 

Jeongguk was sick and weak, and had never fought a day in his life. He was going to lose.

He was going to die.

"No," Jeongguk struggled in vain, the wolf looming over him to straddle his hips and shove his arms into the floor. 

Manshik looked half-crazed, his expression torn between wanting to murder Jeongguk or keep him alive for the media's scrutiny. There was a zealous greed in his gaze, one that made Jeongguk's stomach turn. Something dark settled in the wolf's eyes, and he arched a clawed hand into the air, eyes aimed right for Jeongguk's throat.

"There is a reason dragons shouldn't exist," Manshik said, as if speaking to a small child. "Just like all your ancestors, all you do is incite violence. All you do is destroy."

"It has never been us," Jeongguk screamed up at him, rage making his voice ragged. "It has never, ever been us!"

Pain was searing against his back, hot and unrelenting and powerful, and when wings tore through the fabric of his shirt, Jeongguk surged up. He beat his wings hard, and they gave him the strength to push Manshik off of himself. The wolf stumbled hard against the wall, and Jeongguk reversed their positions, wrapping his taloned hands around the man's neck.

"I'm a dragon," Jeongguk gritted out, tears streaming down his face as he squeezed until Manshik was purple in the face, eyes darting around frantically. "And be glad that I am."

Because Jeongguk was a dragon, not a killer. 

And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring himself to hurt the wolf more than necessary. So he let go, Manshik falling to the ground, gasping for breath in ugly, rasping pants.

The prior blow to Jeongguk's head made him stumble dangerously, and before he could think about it, and before Manshik could recover, Jeongguk ran straight into his apartment and slammed himself out of the window.

Glass shattered around him, and with a whisper, Jeongguk fell.

☀

Jeongguk was taking a long time. Seokjin stood by the car, driven half-mad by the constant tik-tok of Jimin's emergency lights. 

"I'm going up," he decided, pushing himself away from the car. "Just to check on him." 

"Don't be stifling, hyung," Jimin chided.

"He said he'd call us when he's ready," Namjoon ran a hand behind Seokjin's neck and squeezed once in sympathy. "We can wait a little longer." 

Seokjin sighed. It was always difficult for him to find a balance between his rational thoughts and protective instincts. Especially since Jeongguk was just so young, and so new to their weyr, and so sick. 

It hurt Seokjin's heart, every time he thought of Jeongguk being by himself for so long. Every time he thought of the way the fledgling curled into him, desperate for warmth, he had the urge to wrap Jeongguk up and never, ever let him go.

"I'm giving him five more minutes," Seokjin huffed. "If he doesn't call by then, I'll—" 

He was cut off by the sound of breaking glass. Startled, they looked up, and the first thing Seokjin processed were large dragon wings, dipped in scales the color of a sunset. Jeongguk had half-shifted, something he hadn't even done in the safety of the weyr's apartment. He had half-shifted, and jumped out the window, and—

And those wings, as beautiful as they were, were not being used. 

Seokjin was running before he could even think.

He heard shouting behind him, but Seokjin ran about four steps before he was shoving off of the sidewalk, his own wings having come out upon their own will, ripping through his shirt. He surged up, body slamming straight into Jeongguk's as the fledgling fell into him. With a beat of his wings, Seokjin was landing harshly on the ground, Jeongguk in his arms.

One look at his fledgling had his eyes darkening. Rage filled him so quickly he felt breathless with it, his hands shaking as they ran over Jeongguk's bruised throat, his bleeding temple. Without a word, Seokjin was transferring Jeongguk into Namjoon's arms, and then he was spinning on his heels and soaring. 

He shot straight up into the air and through the window Jeongguk fell out of, unconscious and bruised. 

"Hyung!" Taehyung screamed after him.

Seokjin could hardly hear him. He couldn't hear anything past the blood rushing through his ears, the flames collecting in the back of his throat. Glass caught on the edges of his wings as he surged through the window, but he couldn't feel a thing. He landed in Jeongguk's old apartment with a throaty roar. 

"Who was it," Seokjin's voice came out in a hiss, his wing spanning from wall to wall in the little apartment.

As he looked around, the glimpses of Jeongguk's old hoard made him even angrier, and he began stalking towards the open apartment door leading into the hallway.

"Who hurt my fledgling?" Seokjin shouted, and past the roaring in his ears he could barely recognize his own voice. "Show your face!"

And in all his years alive, for the first time, Seokjin thought maybe they were right. Maybe dragons were dangerous, because Seokjin was shaking with the need to do something, to cause harm, to take and destroy and raze and conquer whoever had dared to lay a hand on his fledgling, and he couldn't think past the fear and the worry and the rage that ate him up inside like fire licking at dry paper. 

Before he could make it past the open door and into the hallway, arms were wrapping around him from behind, their grip tight.

"Hyung," Jimin's voice was shaking. "Seokjin hyung, please, you need to calm down."

The fae had flown up after him, and the thought of Jimin's wings getting torn against the jagged glass just made Seokjin even angrier.

"You can't do this right now, hyung," Jimin was crying, his face pressed in the space between Seokjin's large wings. "Please."

"Somebody hurt him," Seokjin was breathing sparks with every exhale. His breath smelled like smoke, and he could feel his fire churning in his stomach.

"I know," Jimin squeezed in even tighter. "And—we'll make whoever it was pay. But it can't be right now. It can't be like this, hyung. Someone's going to see you."

Seokjin stood there, his wings flared to their full capacity, his own blood dripping down his fingertips. He wished it was somebody else's. He thirsted for it –– revenge. 

Not just for Jeongguk, but for his entire species. Seokjin was old, and he had lived long enough to know how to mellow his emotions, but no matter how much time passed, he would never stop being angry. He would never stop feeling that agonizing, empty hatred for the world that had hated his kind so much they wanted him to stop existing. 

It had been easy to ignore it, living a life pretending he was something else. With his seat in The Council, smiling at his coworkers and asking after their families, Seokjin could almost pretend that he was one of them. That his entire existence was not hated.

But now, with Jeongguk, who still chirped high in his throat the way only fledglings do, whose eyes caught on every shiny thing and coveted them for his hoard, who had such polite manners and gentle smiles and kind gestures despite being alone for so long his body had began to rot away with loneliness –– now, with Jeongguk, Seokjin could no longer afford to pretend.

He could no longer afford to let go of this anger. 

Now, with Jeongguk, Seokjin wanted to burn.

His entire body stayed tense in Jimin's hold.

"I'm scared," Jimin confessed, his hands fisting into Seokjin's shirt the longer the dragon stayed silent.

And it was those words that made Seokjin unfurl. His wings retracted into his back and his nails grew short again. His body shook with emotion, but Seokjin knew Jimin was right. If there had been anybody on the street watching them...there'd be no explaining it. 

Once he felt Seokjin relax, Jimin let go and flew towards the door. He looked out into the hallway, but it was empty, almost eerily so. He closed and locked the door, then he was flying back to Seokjin and scooping his hyung up like a baby.

"Jimin," Seokjin protested, but Jimin flew straight out the window and down to their car.

Taehyung was already in the driver's seat. Jimin all but dumped Seokjin into the passenger's seat and then they were driving home. Immediately, Seokjin twisted around to find Jeongguk.

"Is he okay?" he breathed out.

"I don't know," Namjoon's voice was shaking. He had Jeongguk cradled against his chest, his back against the car door. "He's gone all cold again."

"We need Yoongi hyung to look at him," Taehyung said, pressing down on the gas.

There was a beat of silence, then two.

"Did anybody see?" Seokjin's voice was tight. 

"I don't know," Namjoon said again. "I don't...I don't think so."

Seokjin went into the glove compartment, took out the brown napkins they'd saved from some fast-food joint. There was a tiny grease stain on the corner of one of them.

"Okay," he replied. 

He pressed the napkins into his bleeding palms, ripped open by his own talons. In the silence of it all, Jimin began crying, little sobs escaping him and wracking Seokjin with guilt.

"I'm sorry," Seokjin swallowed. "Hyung is so sorry."

He didn't know what he was apologizing for.

Everything, and nothing.

But he did know that he'd failed to protect his weyr, and Seokjin had never felt more useless in his life. When Taehyung reached over to hold onto his hand, the blood-soaked napkin clutched between their skin, Seokjin didn't have the strength to squeeze back.

☀

When Jeongguk woke up, Yoongi was shining a light in his eye.

"Hyung?" he croaked out, his throat scratchy. 

"Shh," Hoseok was beside Yoongi suddenly, and they were sitting Jeongguk up to tilt water into his mouth. "How are you feeling?"

Jeongguk looked around, and he realized that the entire weyr was there in the room. They were all looking at him in concern. Disoriented, Jeongguk looked to Seokjin, and wished that the older dragon was holding him. He was cold, and sad, and he needed a hug.

"Hyung," he said again, to Seokjin this time. "Hyung, did you get my hoard?" 

Seokjin's face twisted, and without a word, he stood up and left the room. Jeongguk stared after him, stunned. Tears immediately built in his eyes, and he hunched over, sobbing.

He realized his wings were still out, the heavy weight of them dragging him down into a slouch. Jeongguk never shifted, never allowed his wings to show. It felt odd to have them out, extensions of himself that felt alien, too cumbersome. 

Petulantly, he flapped them once and thunked them down on the bed with a little slap.

"We didn't get it, Jeonggukie," Jimin answered softly. "I'm sorry." 

"I really wanted it back," Jeongguk cried into his hands.

"I'm sorry, Jeongguk," his face was lifted up and Namjoon was pressing a tender kiss in the center of his forehead. "I know you did."

Hoseok unfurled Jeongguk's hands, and pressed his new hoard into his palms. Jeongguk squeezed the three items tightly, clutching them close to his chest. 

"What happened, Jeongguk?" Hoseok asked, running a gentle hand down Jeongguk's wings. "Who attacked you?"

"My werewolf landlord," Jeongguk wailed, suddenly remembering clearly the events that had taken place. "Oh, god, he—hyung, he knows! He knows I'm a dragon!" 

His breath was speeding up as shock and panic ran through his body. "He said he was going to kill me, and I ran, I—"

"Nobody is going to kill you," Yoongi cut in sharply, his expression severe. "Do you hear me? It will never, ever happen." 

"No, no, he knows," Jeongguk shook his head frantically, wrapping his wings around himself like a second layer of protection.

"I ruined it, he knows, and you and Jin hyung are gonna be in danger too, I'm so sorry, hyung, I'm so sorry." 

"Breathe, little one," Yoongi said, his tone gentling. "We're going to be okay. Hyung will make sure of it."

Yoongi crouched by the bed and ran his hand up and down Jeongguk's thigh. The pressure was grounding, and Jeongguk focused on the warmth of Yoongi's hand and tried to match his breathing to the movements. When his head felt less light, he reached down to clutch onto the hand.

"What are we going to do?" Jeongguk asked, lip bitten raw. 

"Don't worry about it for now," Jimin answered. "Just rest, okay? Don't talk too much, your throat is..."

The fae's eyes darkened as they landed on the bruises spattered across Jeongguk's skin, and he had to look away, his sentence trailing off. Jeongguk raised a hand to it, and then to the bandage that was wrapped around his head. Manshik must have punched him so hard he'd somehow broken skin. Or maybe some glass had cut him on his way out the window.

"I'm alright," Jeongguk reassured them. "I fought back." 

At that, Taehyung let out a little huff of amusement.

"Our strong fledgling, I have no doubt that you did," the vampire praised him. "I hope you gave him hell."

Jeongguk managed a smile at that. Though he hadn't won that fight by any means, Jeongguk also wasn't as weak as he'd always thought he was, and pride made his wings flare out, just a little.

Yoongi laughed then, leaning in to nuzzle their cheeks together.

"Okay, time to rest," he announced. "Taehyung-ah, stop riling him up." 

"I'm not! I'm just proud!"

"I'll nap with you, baby," Hoseok was already sliding into bed beside Jeongguk, wrapping an arm around him.

One by one, the weyr pressed kisses to his and Hoseok's heads then left the room, and the siren's breathing evened out. But no matter how long he laid there, Jeongguk couldn't fall asleep. When the sun began setting and he was still wide awake, he silently slid out from Hoseok's arms.

Feeling guilty for leaving Hoseok to nap by himself, Jeongguk gently placed Jimin's ring on the pillow by Hoseok's head, so he'd see it right when he woke up. Hopefully Jeongguk's little piece of comfort would comfort his hyung, as well. Then, he padded out of the room, his wings drooping and dragging silently along the floors.

Jeongguk found Seokjin in the living room, watching the TV with the sound muted. Everybody else must be in their rooms, because Seokjin was alone. Jeongguk made his way to the couch and stood in front of Seokjin, blocking his view of the TV screen.

"Hyung," Jeongguk said, trying to meet Seokjin's eyes. "Are you angry with me?"

Seokjin stiffened at the question, but he didn't look up. He barely moved. He just stared straight ahead at Jeongguk's stomach.

"Of course not," Seokjin answered. "You didn't do anything wrong, Jeongguk."

Jeongguk shifted on his feet. Wrung Seokjin's fuzzy headband in his hands.

"Then why won't you look at me?" he asked, voice shaking. 

The older dragon looked up, then, and Jeongguk jerked back at the sight of Seokjin crying.

"I'm not angry with you, precious. I'm angry at myself. I should have gone up with you. And when you took so long, I felt something was off, and still, I didn't go to check on you. You were hurt, and in danger, and it was entirely my fault."

"Stop, hyung," Jeongguk said heatedly, surging forward to clamber into Seokjin's lap. 

He wrapped his arms, legs and wings around Seokjin, clinging on tight. "None of it was your fault. I asked you to give me space. I needed to say goodbye to my apartment, and my old life, alone."

Seokjin stiffened for only a moment before he was sighing in relief, squeezing Jeongguk in his arms, slotting their torsos up against each other. Seokjin leaned back, and nuzzled their cheeks together. It was the first time he's done that, and emotion surged in Jeongguk's chest.

"You've given me everything, Jin hyung," Jeongguk whispered. "I used to spend every night hoping and wishing and yearning for someone like you." 

Seokjin squeezed him in tighter at the admission, his large hands running over Jeongguk's wings, down his spine. Suddenly pulling back, Seokjin cupped Jeongguk's face gently in-between his palms. His long fingers were pressing lightly into Jeongguk's cheekbones, brushing against the tips of his lower lashes.

"I love you," Seokjin confessed. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life loving you."

And after lifetimes, those worn and tried and true love poems memorized on Jeongguk's lips burst, spinning and exploding like supernovas.

They finally led Jeongguk home.

"I love you more," Jeongguk rushed out so fast his words tripped over each other. "Hyung, I love you, too."

He dove in for a giddy hug, grinning from ear to ear. Seokjin laughed, rocking them side to side, placing kisses to the top of Jeongguk's head. Pulling back, Jeongguk leaned forward again to press a kiss to Seokjin's lips. 

It was clumsy, their teeth clacking when Seokjin smiled in amusement. Jeongguk was almost vibrating with excitement, but Seokjin calmed him with intent hands on his stomach, his upper thighs. The kiss sweetened, and slowed, and Jeongguk sighed into Seokjin's mouth, filled to the brim with warmth.

The older dragon pulled back, smiling at Jeongguk so gently, like he was the most precious thing Seokjin's ever held.

"I love you," Jeongguk said again, almost shyly this time. Seokjin surged in peck his lips over and over again. In sheer delight, Jeongguk's wings did a little flap. Seokjin grinned at them, running his hands over the scales reverently.

Seokjin opened his mouth to say something, but their moment was interrupted by a low, haunted voice.

"Hyung," Yoongi was suddenly standing there by the couch, his eyes huge. 

It took Jeongguk a few moments to realize the expression on Yoongi's face. Yoongi looked scared. Yoongi looked terrified.

"Yoongi-yah?" Seokjin reached out on instinct to his other dragon. "What is it? What's wrong?" 

"Hyung," Yoongi's voice was shaking. "They...they know."

He stepped aside, and Seokjin's eyes slowly trailed over to the TV. 

"No," Seokjin breathed out, eyes flashing gold.

Jeongguk twisted in his lap. His eyes found the TV screen, and his breathing hitched. It was set to a news channel, and though the volume was muted, the headline was bold across the entire screen.

There was a grainy clip being repeated over and over again, one of Seokjin's dragon wings bursting from his back as he shot up from the sidewalk. Right beside it on the screen, was Gwan Manshik, being interviewed in an ill-fitting suit.

DRAGONS FOUND IN SEOUL. STATE OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY UNTIL CREATURES ARE SECURELY OBTAINED.

☀

Seokjin stood, immediately sweeping Jeongguk up into his arms and striding towards the hallway.

"Hyung," Yoongi kept pace with him, face twisted with uncertainty. "Talk to me. What's our plan? What are we going to do?"

Jeongguk wrapped his arms around Seokjin's neck and held tight, burying his face into his hyung's shoulder.

"This is all my fault," he whispered.

"That was pre-recorded, yes?" Seokjin asked Yoongi, referring to the news station.

"I think so," Yoongi responded.

Cursing harshly, Seokjin walked into his room and placed Jeongguk gently on the bed, untangling the fledgling's arms from around him.

"Hyung? Is everything okay?" Namjoon peeked his head into the room from the hall, brows furrowed with concern.

"Namjoon, gather everybody in here. Quickly," Seokjin said, throwing the closet doors open. He reached up to a shelf and yanked down three full duffel bags.

Namjoon ran off to get the others, and Seokjin came back to Yoongi and put his hands on his shoulders.

"Yoongi-yah," Seokjin began.

Yoongi stiffened at the tone, already reaching up to knock his hyung's hands off his shoulders.

"Don't say it," Yoongi spat, fire burning in his eyes. "Don't you dare say it."

"You need to take Jeongguk, and you all need to leave," Seokjin said.

"No," Yoongi denied immediately. "We're not leaving you. There's no goddamn way that you're getting me to leave you here."

"We have no choice!" Seokjin's voice raised in volume with his urgency. "I am in that video, Yoongi, and The Council's going to recognize me."

"If that news report was pre-recorded, then we're already out of time," Seokjin continued. "They'll be here at any moment, and I need you to take Jeongguk and the rest of our weyr and run."

"Well what about what I need?" Yoongi exploded, shoving Seokjin in the chest, grief wracking through his frame and making it tremble. "I need you with us, I need you to stay. I can't — I can't do this without you, hyung, you know I never could. I need — I need you!"

"Yoongi," Seokjin caught Yoongi's wrists in his hands. "Darling." 

Using his grip on Yoongi's arms, Seokjin pulled the other dragon into a bone-crushing hug. Yoongi clutched back with all his might, loud sobs ripping from his throat.

"You are strong," Seokjin whispered.

Pulling back, Seokjin bent and lifted a duffel bag onto Yoongi's shaking shoulders. "If there is anyone who is fierce enough, loyal enough, to protect our weyr, it is you, Yoongi. And we have Jeongguk now — it's not just you and me who's in danger anymore."

Jeongguk watched the entire scene from the bed with a tight throat. He could hardly wrap his head around what was happening. Seokjin was moving and pushing and ushering them all along towards safety, but Jeongguk was still trying to process the fact that everybody knew.

"Take them to our property in Salus," Seokjin told Yoongi, whose face was morphing from grief into a resigned determination. "There are no papers, nothing that ties us down there. You'll all be safe there for now."

"What about you?" Jeongguk asked. "Jin hyung, what about you?"

The rest of the weyr were watching from just inside the door, their faces haunted. They'd heard the dragons' entire argument, but none of them could say anything. Deep down, they'd all prepared for this. For the day that their dragons would be discovered, and hunted down once more.

Seokjin just shook his head, reaching over to bundle Jeongguk up in a huge sweater. Jeongguk wrapped his arms around Seokjin's torso, clinging. 

"Please," Jeongguk whispered. "I love you. Please, don't leave us." 

"Jeongguk," Seokjin's voice shook.

He rubbed his cheek frantically against Jeongguk's. Pulling back, he stared into his fledgling's eyes.

"Next time I see you," Seokjin said. "I hope you're not sick anymore. I hope your hoard is five, ten, fifteen times its size. I love you, and the rest of your hyungs do too. They're going to take care of you."

Jeongguk shook his head. 

"The video didn't even have your face in it, hyung," he tightened his arms around Seokjin's torso. "And Manshik — my landlord, he knows me. If anyone should be staying, it's—" 

Seokjin's face immediately hardened.

"I'd die a thousand times over before ever leaving you behind, Jeongguk," Seokjin said. 

Leaning forward, he pressed one last kiss to Jeongguk's forehead.

Then Seokjin turned to face the rest of his weyr, and silently opened his arms. Jimin was the first to barrel into him, followed closely by the others. Muffled sobs were the only sounds that filled the room, and Jeongguk's heart felt like a world cracked apart. Seokjin only gave himself a few moments to hold them before he was pulling back, hands clenching into fists. His face composed itself into something gentle, resigned.

"Go," Seokjin said. "Everything you need is in the bags. I love you all, okay? I love you. I need you all to be safe. It's all I need." 

Jeongguk was crying so hard he couldn't breathe. He felt someone pick him up, but he reached out for Seokjin with shaking hands. Seokjin didn't reach back. He stood in the center of the room as Hoseok and Taehyung grabbed the other two bags. 

"I'll fix this," Seokjin promised quietly. "I'll fix this, and I'll find you all after." 

With that, they left him.

☀

There was no TV at their cottage in Salus. They didn't bring their phones, or their computers, afraid that they'd somehow be tracked through them.

So there was nothing to do but wait, and wonder.

Jimin stared out the window towards the sky. Sometimes, if he squinted, he could almost pretend that he could see a large azure dragon, flying straight for them. Like a shooting star hitting its mark, a million wishes trailing on its tail, with hopes and dreams that clung to it but never weighed it down. 

Sometimes, Jimin could pretend, that that shooting star would make its way through the door, and Seokjin would take them into his arms, telling them that everything was alright now. 

Telling them to come back home.

But when he blinked, and there was no dragon there. There was no hopeful dream, no wish coming true. 

There was no Seokjin. 

Tears burned the backs of Jimin's eyes. Turning away from the tauntingly peaceful, open sky, Jimin trained his eyes on his weyr. They all slept together here, in a giant nest in the middle of the living room.

They held each other desperately, even in sleep, as if to not let another one of them slip away. Fingers clutched hips, legs entangled, blankets tucked tightly all around. A flimsy illusion of safety. The days and nights bled into each other in silence.

When Jimin was young, he thought grief was loud. He thought it was a wailing mother, prayers chanted over and over and over again, bargaining and lashing out and screaming.

But now, he sees that it is silent.

It is going to the bathroom at night and staring at yourself in the mirror for thirty minutes. There is nothing unrecognizable about your face, but still, you cannot find yourself in the reflection. It is watching the water boil over in the pot with apathy. It is setting one too many place mats at the table. It is searching for someone and, for a few happy seconds, forgetting that they're not there.

Grief is silent, and Jimin wanted nothing more than to scream.

Jeongguk whined in his sleep and turned over. He was clutching Seokjin's headband in a tight fist, still wearing the sweater that the older dragon had pulled over his head five days ago. When they'd tried to change him out of it, Jeongguk had locked himself in the bathroom for hours.

Yoongi's eyes immediately opened at the fledgling's movements. He had an arm wrapped around Jeongguk's waist, and he used it to pull Jeongguk closer to him. Jimin didn't think Yoongi had gotten any sleep, since they'd gotten here. Circles ran dark underneath his eyes.

"Hyung," Jimin whispered. "I'm keeping watch. You can go to sleep."

Yoongi's eyes darted over to Jimin.

"I know. I'm trying. I just...can't. I can't stop thinking about hyung, and what's happened to him, and whenever I close my eyes I..."

"Imagine the worst," Jimin finished for him. Because he did the exact same thing.

"What will we do?" a small voice cut through the room. 

Apparently, Jeongguk had woken up — or perhaps he hadn't really been asleep, either. 

"What will we do if hyung never comes?"

Jimin's lips parted, automatically wanting to assure their youngest that Seokjin would never, ever leave them behind.

But the words got caught in his throat. Jeongguk stared up at him, eyes huge.

Fae were honest to a fault. Fae couldn't lie. Jimin stayed silent, and looked away.

☀

Jeongguk spent a lot of time thinking, now. He wandered around the cottage feeling like a ghost. He obsessed over his hoard, a primal part of his brain clutching onto everyone and everything he thought was his, not wanting to lose something he loved ever again.

His confetti was growing worn and thin, so he stuck it in a plastic bag to keep it safe. He took a little cloth and polished Jimin's ring every morning and every night, though it made little difference.

Jeongguk knew, at this point, that he'd made Seokjin's sweater part of his hoard as well. It didn't smell like the older dragon anymore.

Jeongguk simultaneously hated it and needed it.

"You're stinky," Taehyung teased as he pulled on the sweater's hem.

"Am not," Jeongguk argued. "I showered this morning."

"Yes, but you changed back into the same stinky sweater," Taehyung sighed.

Jeongguk scowled at him, but then lifted a sleeve to sniff at it. Maybe it did smell a little. Eyes softening, Taehyung rose to his feet.

"Come on," the vampire said softly. "We can hand-wash it. That way it'll never be out of your sight." 

Jeongguk complied, and together they moved to the sink and filled it up halfway with water. He gingerly took the sweater off.

Taehyung pulled out a lavender scented soap, pouring it into the water, then dunking the sweater in and scrubbing. Heart hurting, Jeongguk stuck his hands in to help. This soap wasn't right. This smell wasn't right.

Seokjin didn't smell like lavender. Not at all.

Still, Jeongguk scrubbed and scrubbed until the sweater was clean, then they were hanging it over the bathtub, sopping wet. 

Jeongguk spent the rest of the day in the bathroom, waiting for it to dry. As time passed, he could hear Yoongi and Hoseok murmuring to each other. They were always talking, now, serious expressions on their faces. Jeongguk knew they were planning something. Maybe multiple somethings.

Jeongguk knew they were all tired of waiting. He knew they all missed Seokjin, were scared for his safety. He just didn't know how his hyungs weren't falling apart, like him. Jeongguk felt like a sweater that's been washed over and over again, run ragged at the seams, on the brink of ruin.

Hoseok came into the bathroom and found him sitting inside the empty bathtub.

"I need to pee," the siren announced. There was only one bathroom in the cottage.

"Okay," Jeongguk said, but he didn't get up. He just reached over to yank the shower curtain closed, creating a barrier.

There was a moment of stunned silence, then Hoseok was laughing. It had been so long since he'd heard one of them laugh. It was almost too loud inside the small bathroom, but the sound of it made Jeongguk giggle, as well. 

Once Hoseok was done, he opened the shower curtain, and settled on the cold tile outside of the tub, facing Jeongguk.

"You know," the siren began gently after a few minutes of silence. "A few centuries ago, I was captured, and taken hostage."

Jeongguk sucked in a shocked breath. Of all the things he expected Hoseok to say, it hadn't been that. 

Quietly, Jeongguk asked, "What happened?"

Hoseok reached for him, and Jeongguk immediately reached back. They threaded their fingers together, and held tight.

"Though there are more of us today, sirens were a bit more rare back then," Hoseok said. "And we're alluring. It's part of our nature, to draw people towards us. A lot of creatures wanted a siren in their coven, or their pack. We were sought after for how pretty our tails are, for our voices. And so, one day when I was walking home, a demon saw me and just...decided to take me."

"Hyung," Jeongguk breathed out in horror.

Hoseok shrugged. "I don't remember much about it. Just, one moment I was walking, the next I was waking up in a strange room, tied down by the ankles and wrists."

"How did you escape?" Jeongguk pressed, gnawing on his lip with worry.

Hoseok let out a little chuckle.

"I didn't even get the chance to try," Hoseok said. "Because Seokjin was there. He'd been looking all over for me, and he traced my scent, and he was there before I even had time to process I'd been kidnapped."

Jeongguk smiled, resting his cheek against the porcelain rim of the tub.

"What I'm trying to tell you, little love," Hoseok said quietly. "Is that Jin hyung is the strongest creature I know. And since he's met you, he's only had reason to grow even stronger."

Jeongguk shut his eyes. He felt Hoseok's hand cup his cheek and he leaned into it.

"I know it's hard," Hoseok's voice was pained. "But we have to trust him."

Jeongguk nodded. "Okay."

Later when Yoongi called them out for dinner, Jeongguk was able to leave the sweater hanging in the bathroom by itself.

But by nightfall, even though it was still a little damp, he pulled it over his head and dreamt of Seokjin, smiling at him from endless fields of lavender.

☀

Seokjin dreamt that he was walking down a long, dark hallway. All around him, he could hear sounds of his weyr, calling his name, crying for help, their voices so familiar yet so out of reach. Every time he pushed his hand into the shadows, yearning to feel the softness of Taehyung's cheek, or the callouses on Yoongi's hands, or the gossamer of Jimin's wings –– he would pull his hand back covered in nothing but a sticky, all-consuming darkness.

"I'm here," Seokjin shouted, half-running down the hall. "Hyung's right here!" 

He couldn't see the end of it, but he couldn't stop going, either. There was nothing left for him to do but go. 

Suddenly, a weight was knocking into his shins.

Seokjin stumbled, but caught his balance and looked down. A messy mop of black hair was brushing against his knees, and little arms were wound tightly around his legs.

"Who...?"

The child looked up, and Seokjin's breath caught. He would know those eyes anywhere. They looked even larger on Jeongguk's younger face, his cheeks pudgy, his bottom lip quivering.

"Jeongguk-ah," Seokjin swooped down and grabbed at the hatchling, immense relief filling him when he could finally wrap his arms around something, could finally protect somebody that he loved.

"Hyung," the child wailed into his ear, latching his arms around Seokjin's neck. "Hyung, I'm scared."

"I've got you," Seokjin soothed, hugging Jeongguk tight to his chest. "I'm right here."

"You're not," Jeongguk cried, his hair tickling Seokjin's chin as he shook his head back and forth. "You're not!" 

Then Jeongguk was being jerked out of his arms by an invisible force, and Seokjin screamed, reaching for him. Jeongguk was suspended mid-air, being dragged back further and further no matter how fast Seokjin ran for him.

"Jeongguk!" Seokjin shouted.

As he ran, Jeongguk grew more and more, going from a child to how he looked now, limbs extending and face maturing but still sweet and still young and still everything Seokjin wanted to keep safe.

"Hyung!"

The fledgling disappeared into the darkness, and Seokjin slammed into a dark, immovable wall.

He'd reached the end of the hallway. As he stood there, he could no longer hear the sounds of his weyr calling for him. 

All he could hear was his own ragged breathing, his arms mourning the weight of Jeongguk's body clutched to his chest. 

☀

It was during their second week in Salus that The Council found them.

In the middle of the night, Jeongguk startled awake to the sound of the door shattering off of its hinges. Namjoon, who had been awake and keeping watch, was the first to lunge towards them. The hydra roared so loudly the entire cottage shook, but the soldiers The Council had sent were nearly unfazed. 

Jeongguk screamed as he was yanked up from their warm nest of blankets by a rough hand in his hair. His hoard laid abandoned on the floor as he struggled.

"This is him," the man holding him grunted. "This is the other dragon that landlord was talking about."

"Don't touch him," Taehyung shouted, voice guttural and deep as he lunged up from the floor. With his fangs extended, he went straight for the man's neck. He successfully dug his fangs in, but was quickly dislodged by another soldier, who picked him up and flung him bodily across the whole room.

Taehyung landed on his feet, blood dripping from his snarling lips. 

"Let me go," Jeongguk cocked an elbow and pushed it back as hard as he could, hitting flesh. 

When that didn't work, his talons extended, and this time he wasn't afraid to do harm. This time, Jeongguk was angrier than he'd ever been.

Jeongguk swiped the man across the face, and relished in the soldier's cry of pain. Fire built at the base of his throat and he sucked in a breath so huge he felt like he was swallowing the entire world, and then the room was in flames.

But more armed, uniformed men kept piling in, and Jeongguk whipped his head around at Jimin's cry of pain. Somebody was pinning his wings, clamping them underneath their arm like Jimin was a little butterfly, and Jeongguk growled, shifting to go towards them.

His path was blocked, however, with more and more soldiers, and soon Jeongguk couldn't even see Jimin anymore, and from the corner of his eye he thought he saw Hoseok falling. Spinning in a slow circle, Jeongguk was surrounded. He was afraid, but he stubbornly stood tall as he surveyed the scene.

As the adrenaline was making his mind hyper-focused, Jeongguk noticed that none of the soldiers were aiming to kill them. They weren't afraid to hurt them, but they were taking care not to deliver any fatal injuries. They were trying to take them somewhere alive. 

"Stand down, dragon," one of the guards ordered, pointing a crossbow straight at Jeongguk.

In a stupid fit of bravery, wearing Seokjin's sweater, Jeongguk did not stand down. He sneered, stared the guard in the eye, and leapt towards him. 

The crossbow fired, and Jeongguk's body jerked. Pain seared through his stomach, and he fell to his knees.

"Jeongguk!" he heard Yoongi screaming, then the heavy beat of wings overhead.

Yoongi had half-shifted, and the soldiers shouted at the sight of his dragon wings. He landed and lunged to wrap his body around Jeongguk's, pressing a hand to the fledgling's bleeding stomach.

"Jeongguk, fuck, baby, look at me," Yoongi pleaded, but the arrow must have been tipped with a sedative, because Jeongguk's body was limp and heavy.

He wanted to tell Yoongi that he was okay, that they weren't going to kill them, but he couldn't move his lips. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was the fight draining out of Yoongi.

Yoongi's arms wrapped around Jeongguk tightly, and his talons receded back into his nail beds. His black wings drooped and wrapped around the both of them in protection.

Even in this moment, where everything was fire and chaos and hurt, all Yoongi could think about was keeping Jeongguk safe. All any of the weyr could think about were each other, and to have a love like that, Jeongguk would drag himself bloody through a million nightmares like this.

Jeongguk's eyes fell shut, but despite it all, he was warm.

☀

They had kept Seokjin chained to the ground like a dog. Council members, creatures he'd worked with for lifetimes, looked at him with hatred, with fear, with disgust.

Every day, he'd bargained. He'd pleaded for them to leave Jeongguk alone. To call off the hunt for his fledgling. He would have done anything, anything, but everybody turned a blind eye to him. Even Seokjin's closest friend in the Council, Lee Doyun, shook his head at his pleas.

"You can kill me," Seokjin had rasped out one night when Doyun had brought him food. "You can kill me, and my weyr will live in hiding forever. The world will never hear from them again, won't catch sight of them ever. Just...just don't hurt him. Please." 

"Jin..." Doyun's voice was tight with sympathy. "I––you know I can't help you right now. I'm so sorry, I really am."

"What if he was one of yours?" Seokjin pressed on, desperately. 

Doyun froze.

"What if that was your pup, Doyun?" Seokjin asked the werewolf. "What if it was your Sungmin? And they were hunting him down like prey, when all he wanted to do was live? Jeongguk hasn't done anything. His entire life, he's just been alone. He's never hurt anybody, has the kindest, gentlest soul, but you all keep taking and taking from him and it's not fair. It's...it's not fair." 

Doyun stood, his fists clenching.

"I'm so sorry, Seokjin," the werewolf said again.

Then he was leaving, and Seokjin screamed after his friend in anguish, in betrayal, in pain. He pulled at the chain around his neck until he bled, but it did not give. For the first time in his life, Seokjin felt truly, truly helpless.

He tucked his face in-between his knees and thought of his weyr. He wondered if they were okay. If they missed him. If they were eating well. Seokjin thought of them, and he didn't know what was worse — having to see them chained up here beside him, or never getting to see them again.

His question was answered when he was woken up one morning and dragged to the Council's Room of Judgment. When they stepped in, the first thing Seokjin saw was Doyun's grim face, twisted into something regretful and sad.

The second: a pair of limp dragon wings, coated in blood.

☀

When Seokjin and Yoongi were hatchlings, everything about the world was different. It was a time when dirt was rich and trees were the tallest, most indestructible things. 

Born into the same family weyr just a few months apart, Seokjin's definition of love began with this: with lips that curl up like peony petals. With Yoongi's hand in his, their fingers pressed tightly together—first baby-soft, then as they grew, calloused and knotted like tree trunks. 

It began with stomping in puddles when it rained, and lifting rocks to find little animals. It began with waving goodbye when their mothers called them inside as the sun set, and screaming hello with each sunrise, their homes just a few footsteps away. It began with Seokjin crying when Yoongi shifted before he did, despite him being older. It began with Yoongi cursing as Seokjin steadily grew and grew, surpassing him in height. 

It began with their childhood friendship steadily rising and growing into something more. It began with their first kiss on a hill. Their first fight by the river.

Seokjin has never known a life that hasn't been painted over by Yoongi's colors. And despite the two of them forming their own weyr and adding more and more people into their hearts, Seokjin's beginning will always, always be Yoongi.

So, now, a million beginnings later, Seokjin would recognize Yoongi's wings anywhere. 

In a heartbeat, with his eyes shut, with his hands bound.

A scream left his throat, one so full of fear he could hardly recognize his own voice. Seokjin surged forward, just to be yanked back by the chain around his neck almost immediately. His eyes never left Yoongi's wings. With the way they were sprawled out, he couldn't see anything past them, didn't know if there was anything past them.

Seokjin was dragged to the center of the room and his chain was attached to the wall. He let himself be moved and jostled in a daze, uncomprehending of anything but his fear. 

"Yoongi," Seokjin screamed, every part of his body shaking. "Yoongi!"

There was a long, ugly stretch of silence. 

Seokjin felt his eyes flash gold, his wings pushing against the skin of his back. Blood was streaming down from where he struggled against the chain, this damned chain that could withstand force from even the strongest of creatures, even a dragon. 

Then — movement.

As if in response to Seokjin's voice, the wings moved, and slowly unfurled. They dropped to the floor, flared around Yoongi's body like a blood-soaked halo. Almost immediately, as if he'd been waiting for him all along, Yoongi's eyes found Seokjin's.

Seokjin's breath left him in a rush, and his legs buckled. He fell to his knees, relief so powerful it hurt coursing through his body. Yoongi was okay. Yoongi was alive.

And there, wrapped up tiny in Yoongi's arms, was Jeongguk. Yoongi had been protecting Jeongguk, hadn't felt safe enough to let go of the protective cocoon his wings had formed until he heard Seokjin's voice. 

Until he knew Seokjin was there for them.

Pain twisted through Seokjin's heart when he thought of how badly he'd failed them. He noticed Yoongi was pressing a hand against Jeongguk's stomach, his pale hand coated in blood. From the look in Yoongi's eyes, Seokjin knew their fledgling wasn't in too much danger from the wound, but he was still hurt.

Twisting to face the Councilmembers, Seokjin's face twisted into a snarl.

"Heal him," he demanded. "You fucking monsters. You're just going to let a fledgling bleed out on the floor like that? From a wound that you inflicted before there was any fair trial?"

The Councilmembers sat side by side on a raised platform. Seokjin had to look up towards them, like a prayerman looking up towards his Gods, and hatred burned in his gut. 

Without him, there were fourteen of them. Seokjin stared at his empty chair and thought of all the times he'd sat up there—thinking that one day, his dedication to them would gain him favor. Would gain him safety. 

Seokjin thought that if they knew him for him, then they'd be able to look past their own prejudice and understand that, dragon or not, he was still worthy of a life. That they'd think back to the years he's spent with them, working side by side on cases, eating lunch together, sharing stories about their nests and family members, showing them the pictures of his weyr that he kept in his wallet. 

Seokjin thought it'd be enough. Seokjin thought they'd see the love inside of him, and find worth in his existence.

A few of the Councilmembers shifted uncomfortably. Some of them, the ones that Seokjin had been especially close with, refused to meet his eyes, and somehow that made him even angrier.

"Every Judgment is televised," Seokjin said. "Dragon or not, you're going to let the entire world view you all as uncaring of a fledgling's life?"

That got them to move. The Councilhead Misun, a nymph, nodded her head, and healers cautiously walked over towards Jeongguk. Yoongi bristled, a growl rumbling low in his chest, his jaw clenching. He held onto Jeongguk as they hastily moved around him to wrap up the wound on the fledgling's torso. 

Jeongguk slowly woke up from the jostling, his eyes squeezing open and shut as his mouth twisted with pain.

"You're okay, little one," Seokjin could just barely hear what Yoongi was murmuring into Jeongguk's hair. "Hyung is here, we're okay." 

"Check Yoongi too," Seokjin demanded once they'd finished with Jeongguk.

"I'm fine," Yoongi said, but didn't argue when he was offered a cloth to clean the blood from his hands, his face.

Both Yoongi and Jeongguk were chained down by their wrists, and now Sekjin noticed that at the base of Yoongi's wings there were bindings as well.

The door opened, and Seokjin didn't know if it was relief or dread when he noticed the rest of his weyr shuffling in. Their hands were cuffed behind their backs, but they were lead to sit up on the pews, not in the center of the floor where the dragons were held. They were kept far away, but they were still close enough for Seokjin to see the injuries that littered their bodies.

Hatred burned like swallowing a thousand cold nights, all at once. Everything in Seokjin was frozen over with bitterness.

On the other side of the Councilmembers' platform was the crowd of jurors. They also sat elevated, able to stare down at the dragons from their seats. Misun stood once Seokjin's weyr was settled, her voice ringing loudly through the room.

"For endangering the peaceful state of the world, and for aiding and abetting the harmful existence of dragons, the Judgment of Kim Seokjin and his weyr will now begin. The Council pledges by our loyalty and dedication to the greater good of civilization."

☀

Jeongguk burrowed in close to Yoongi. 

From where they were on the floor, he could feel everybody staring at them, and he hated it. He hated how far away the rest of the weyr were, looking down at them with gaunt, frightened faces. He hated the itchy bandage across his torso, and the harsh chain around his wrist. He hated the way the Council spoke, as if they were mere things and not people with lives and loves and heartbreaks and endeavors. 

But most of all, Jeongguk hated how Seokjin looked.

Desperate. Almost manic in his need to protect them. Jeongguk knew firsthand the lengths Seokjin would go to to make sure they were okay, but he didn't want that. Seokjin loved with selfless devotion, and that scared Jeongguk like nothing else.

The history of dragons is this: they were a species that harbored fire in their veins. Hot-blooded, hot-headed, passionate and possessive and zealous. 

Shifted into their full form, they were massive, and among the strongest creatures to ever exist. The violence they could inflict and the havoc they could wreak was insurmountable. 

Before their persecution, dragons were the strongest species to roam the earth. And, with every species, there were bad dragons. There were dragons filled with greed, and evil, and hatred. Though most dragons lived like other species, with the desire to have a simple and peaceful life, there were a select few that were swallowed up by their greed. Treasures, food, trinkets, even other creatures — these dragons took, and wanted, and took more.

These few dragons were not afraid to raze the earth to sate those greedy desires. However, unlike other species with such voracious desires, dragons actually had the strength to do it. 

And so the other species revolted. They fought back. They protected their kind. But among the fear, and the chaos, and the loss — they began to understand dragons as something they were not.  Most of them were not creatures of greed. They were not consumed with a desire for power moreso than any other creature.

They were creatures of heart. They felt more than any other species, loved with every fiber of their being, and mourned hard enough to bring down mountains. 

But none of that mattered back then. How were other species to know, if you were one of the 'good' dragons?

It was easier to simply kill them all. Better not to take any chances. Better the dragons than them, than their children, than their mates.

They always said dragons were creatures of greed, but staring at Seokjin, Jeongguk thought it was the opposite. Dragons would give anything to protect the ones they considered theirs. 

They'd fight for them, get on their knees and beg for them.

And dragons, selfless as they were, would die for them, too.

Time passed, and Jeongguk felt like it had been hours of deliberation. The Council spoke in terms that were too convoluted for Jeongguk to understand, and at times he felt as if they only spoke to listen to their own voices.

But now, Gwan Manshik was being called up, and he was recounting his and Jeongguk's fight in the hallway. 

"He turned and sprung towards me, attacking me on sight," Manshik said to the room. "I had come up to him because his rent was late, and he attacked me like a feral animal!" 

"That isn't what happened!" Jeongguk bristled and spoke up for the first time that Judgment. "He attacked me first!" 

"Quiet!" a Councilmember snapped at him.

Jeongguk clamped his jaw shut.

"We'll have our chance to speak," Yoongi whispered into his ear, though his eyes were blazing with anger. 

"The dragon clearly does not have any self control over his violent instincts that their species are scientifically proven to have," Manshik continued.

Yoongi growled under his breath.

"If we let these three roam free, what will happen to our city?" Manshik asked the room at large. "Will we simply allow them to attack anybody that bothers them? Will we let them burn down establishments that do not cater to them?"

A murmur went through the room. Jeongguk glared at his old landlord, tasting smoke in the back of his throat.

"The dragons may have a chance to speak," a werewolf said from the Council. He was staring at Seokjin with sad eyes.

Determined, Jeongguk took one glance at Seokjin's stiff form and stood from Yoongi's arms.

"Manshik is lying," Jeongguk said, his entire body trembling with the need to have these people understand. 

He looked towards the Council, the jurors, hoping for a shred of empathy. All he saw was fear. They were afraid, of him. 

Shaking his head, Jeongguk continued. "I just came back to get my hoard." 

He hesitated, knowing that many other species thought of dragons' hoards as evil. As a physical representation of their greed.

Shoulders drooping, Jeongguk's voice went a little quieter.

"My hoard isn't anything bad," he defended himself. "It's just...full of books and little stuffed animals and necklaces that shine in the sun. I didn't steal any of them, I saved up for them and..." He petered off, intimidated by the strangers staring back at him. But then he locked eyes with Seokjin, who gave him a nod.

You are a dragon, Seokjin had said to him, way back when they had been meeting for the first time. Like it was a beautiful thing to be. Like Jeongguk had a heart to be proud of. Like Jeongguk and Seokjin and Yoongi and every dragon that had come before them deserved to live. They deserved to live.

You are a dragon. 

Jeongguk took a steadying breath, and kept going, voice stronger now.

"But my favorite things aren't the gems, or the expensive shiny necklaces like you all think," Jeongguk said. "My favorites are a sweater that smells like my Seokjin hyung. It's a piece of confetti, because it was from a night where my entire weyr was celebrating, and they must've all been so happy. It's a ring my Jimin hyung gave me when I felt ill, even when he knew nothing about me but my name." 

Jeongguk swiped at the sudden tears on his cheeks.

"I didn't attack Gwan Manshik," Jeongguk defended himself. "He attacked me first. He saw my dragon eyes and he attacked me. He had his claws around my neck and I was scared, I was screaming for my hyung the entire time, but he couldn't hear me."

Seokjin swallowed thickly at that, his gaze trained on Jeongguk's face. 

"I only attacked him in self defense," Jeongguk said. "I've been living in his building for years, and I've never hurt anybody. There's no reason why I would start now."

"Seokjin hyung and I have been alive for centuries," Yoongi spoke up then. "If dragons are as vengeful and as violent as you all believe, wouldn't we have taken that time to exact our revenge? Wouldn't we have retaliated for the extinction of our species?"

"The only thing we want," Seokjin said, staring up at the Councilmembers who he'd worked with for so, so long. "Is to live in peace. We want to go to work, and make dinner together, and be free. We don't want to hurt anybody. History is skewed on the side against dragons because there were none of us to defend ourselves. But if you let us go, if you let us live, we'll show you that we're not the bloodthirsty creatures you think we are. We'll prove it to you."

"You'll prove it to us?" Misun asked. 

Despite her position of power, the nymph had a decliate, small frame, her ice blond hair pulled back tightly into a bun. But the look in her eyes was severe. Cold, almost detached. 

"Yes," Seokjin's voice shook. 

"You'll prove that you can control yourself, can hold back from violence, even in dire situations," Misun continued.

Seokjin didn't answer that. Jeongguk stared at him as he stared up at the nymph. Something horrible dawned on Seokjin's face a split second before the words left Misun's mouth.

"Get the fledgling."

"NO," Seokjin roared. 

Yoongi, who had let Jeongguk out of his embrace when Jeongguk had been speaking, lunged for him. A soldier yanked Jeongguk away before Yoongi could get to him, unclipping his chain and dragging Jeongguk out of both of the older dragons' reach.

"Don't touch him!" for the first time during the Judgment, Taehyung spoke, rising up from his seat. His eyes were burning bright red, his fangs extended. "This is inhumane. He hasn't done anything!" 

A soldier by him roughly pushed the vampire back down into his seat.

Wings burst from Seokjin's back, and despite the dragon being chained down, everybody in the room flinched.

"If you hurt even a hair on Jeongguk's head," Seokjin said, his voice low. "I don't care what anybody thinks of dragons. I will burn this room, this building to the ground, Misun, I promise you I will."

Misun stared back at him, unyielding.

"I've known you for a long time, Seokjin," Misun said. "I don't want you to die, or be locked away forever. You said you would prove it to us, Jin. So prove it to us."

"It's okay, hyung," Jeongguk tried to assure him, even though his voice was shaking. "If this is what it takes, then it's worth it, right?"

Misun gave a little smile. "See, Seokjin-ah? Even your little fledgling is being braver than you are."

With that, she gave a little wave with her dainty hand, and Jeongguk was backhanded hard across the face. He caught himself on his hands and knees, pain stinging through his entire skull. 

"It's okay," Jeongguk said as fast as he could. "Hyung, I'm fine."

But his words were drowned out by the sound of a boot on skin. It took half a second for the pain to register and for Jeongguk to realize that the soldier had kicked him while he was down. For a moment, it felt like Jeongguk's head was submerged underwater. His ears rang and it felt like the entire world around him was shaking.

Jeongguk looked up just in time to see the chain around Seokjin's neck breaking apart like a piece of thread.

Seokjin's roar was so loud it shook the foundation of the room. He was shifting, changing forms so fast all it took was a blink for someone to miss it. Seokjin was fully a dragon now, his wings spanning the entirety of the room, lips pulled back with fury.

The spiked spines on his back brushed against the ceiling, and with a calculated whip of Seokjin's tail, the soldier was knocked away from Jeongguk. He soared through the air and hit the wall on the other side of the room so hard it dented.

"Hyung, no!" Jeongguk screamed. 

But Seokjin couldn't hear him. The eldest dragon reared his head back and breathed fire into the air, aiming right for the spot next to Misun's head. His tail lashed again to the side, going clear through the pews.

Seokjin reached out with an arm and broke straight through Yoongi's chain. Yoongi immediately flew towards Jeongguk, sweeping him up into his arms and then taking him over to where the rest of their weyr were sitting. 

Screams filtered through the smoke-filled room. Namjoon took Jeongguk from Yoongi's hold, squeezing him tightly to his chest, pressing kisses to his hair over and over again. Yoongi took a moment to inspect Jeongguk's bruising face, lifting his shirt to see if any of his ribs had broken.

"Stop him," Jeongguk said to Yoongi, lightly shoving the dragon away. "Please, hyung, I'm fine! He needs to stop, or we'll never...we'll never get to be together, please." 

Yoongi's face was tight with anger, with sorrow.

"If this is how the rest of the world treats us, treats you," Yoongi said. "Then we don't need a damn thing from them, Jeongguk." 

Having regained some composure, some of the soldiers had regained their footing, armed with weapons aimed straight towards Seokjin. Seeing that, Yoongi flew straight for his hyung, roaring.

The Councilmembers and jurors were scrambling over themselves, shouting orders that were of no help. 

"They're going to kill him," Jeongguk was sobbing, fighting against Namjoon's arms as he stared at the soldiers and the masses of weapons pointed directly at Seokjin. "They're going to kill him, hyung, we have to do something!" 

But before either the soldiers or Seokjin could do anything more, there was a horrible, grating sound. 

The ceiling was being pulled clean off the building. Massive chunk by massive chunk, it was being torn off and flung away. Jeongguk blinked at it with morbid fascination. 

The room was met, first, with light. 

Sunlight poured in like a new beginning, covering the room in gold. Then: a sound so familiar Jeongguk's breath hitched in his throat. 

Jeongguk stood from Namjoon's lap, staring up, up, up, feeling like his body was hurtling through the sky like a star, his heart pounding in his chest as he soared, wishes soaking every inch of his lonely skin, taking in the light and the warmth and the pure gold of it all—

Dragons.

So many of them they filled the sky. All of them looking back at him with their golden eyes, like the world had acquired a dozen more suns. 

And suddenly, Jeongguk, Seokjin and Yoongi were no longer alone. With relief, or pain, or love, Seokjin's form slumped to the floor. 

Similarly, Jeongguk's knees buckled, and he felt Namjoon's arms catching him as he crumpled to the ground, sobs tearing through his throat.

And where they fell, the other dragons finally allowed themselves to emerge from hiding, feeling the sun glow gold on their scales, and picked them up again.

☀

Jeongguk came to cradled in Seokjin's arms.

Before he even opened his eyes, he knew it was Seokjin who was holding him. The familiar scent of the older dragon and the long fingers stroking across his cheek were so achingly Jin that tears flooded from behind Jeongguk's eyelids and began dripping down his cheeks in silent, hot streaks.

"Sweetheart," Seokjin's voice was shaking, lips pressed firmly to Jeongguk's cheekbone, kissing the wetness away. "Jeongguk, Jeongguk-ah. Open your eyes. Let hyung see you. Please, I need to see you."

Before the older dragon was even finished speaking, Jeongguk was surging up, clambering even deeper into Seokjin's lap to throw his arms around his neck and press his face into Seokjin's. 

"Hyung," Jeongguk wailed, crying so hard that he was dizzy with it, the bone-deep sadness and relief and joy that was rattling him like wind through a rusted gate. 

Seokjin wrapped his arms around Jeongguk's waist and squeezed him so tightly he could hardly breathe. Jeongguk wished he'd squeeze harder. Wished he could curl up so small that he could hide inside the beating of Seokjin's heart, never to be wrenched away from his hyung's warmth ever again.

"Are you okay?" Jeongguk sobbed out, pulling back to try and look Seokjin up and down, but unable to see much past the blur of tears. "I missed you, Jin hyung. I needed you so much."

"I'm okay," Seokjin soothed him. "We're all okay. We––" 

Seokjin's voice broke, then his expression was crumpling. He ducked his head, but Jeongguk was there, leaning in to cup Seokjin's cheeks in-between his palms, thumbing away the tears as fast as they were falling.

"We're all okay," Seokjin repeated, chest heaving. "I was so scared. I was so scared we'd..."

"We're okay," Jeongguk repeated. "We're okay, you said it, hyung, we're all okay because of you."

Seokjin pulled back then, and ran a hand over the bandages on Jeongguk's stomach, the deep, sore bruises on his arms. His eyes darkened at the wounds, but Jeongguk leaned in and kissed him. Once, twice, another time, soft and chaste and comforting.

"I love you," Jeongguk whispered. 

A confession to the wind. To the world. To the stars, if they would hear it, that is how vast the warmth in his chest felt. Like it could bond to supernovas and burn for eternity.

Suddenly, there was a sharp inhale and suddenly there was weight pressing onto Jeongguk's back, warmth squeezing around him with fervent desperation. 

"Guk, you're awake!" Jimin's wings were fluttering as he tried to squirm into Jeongguk, his arms wrapping around both dragons as tears swelled in his eyes. 

At the sound of Jimin's voice, Jeongguk became more aware of their surroundings. When he looked around, he noticed that their room was grand –– larger than any hospital room he'd ever been in. There were multiple beds on either side of them, and scattered into them were the rest of the weyr. 

Jimin must have woken up to the sound of Jeongguk and Seokjin's voices, and the rest were beginning to stir with the noise Jimin was making. 

"Jimin hyung," Jeongguk warbled, wanting to reach out to hug the fae back but unable to move his arms with how Seokjin and Jimin were keeping him pinned in-between them. 

"Love you love you," Jimin was saying, laughing as Seokjin leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips as well. 

The rest of the weyr woke up, and soon everyone was clambering onto one bed, wrapped around each other like vines laid down in an ancient garden. Intertwined in a way where Jeongguk knew nothing could break them apart. 

Hands were petting through Jeongguk's hair, a hand was locking with his, a warm palm was grasped around his ankle. Jeongguk felt wholly engulfed by the weyr's love for him, and he did not have a body large enough that could properly convey the devotion he held for them. 

"We're in the hospital?" Jeongguk asked. "Is someone really hurt?"

"You're the one who's most injured," Yoongi tutted, coming into Jeongguk's line of vision with a concerned furrow between his brows. "And to think you're still getting over your lovesickness too, this might really set you back, little love. Those fuckers––" 

"It's okay, hyung," Taehyung soothed, the entire room hearing as Yoongi got more and more worked up. "If Jeonggukkie's condition does relapse a little, we'll be at home with him the entire time. He's okay. We're okay. We're together, and we're okay, and we're going home." 

"But...how?" Jeongguk asked quietly. "Are they letting us go? We're not in trouble anymore?"

"They're letting us go," Seokjin said. "My seat on the Council has been temporarily removed, but there are some moral lawsuits taking place now. With the reveal of more dragons than we, than the world, could have ever imagined...we're going to be okay, baby." 

"How are we going to go home and just...act like everything's normal? How are we going to pretend like none of this ever happened?"

"We won't, sweetheart," Namjoon said earnestly. "Nobody's asking us to. We'll go home, but things have changed, now. But I am of the hope that things have changed for the better. And even if the aftermath seems catastrophic, well. It's something we'll deal with together, won't we?"

It seemed like the six of them held their breath, and all their eyes shifted towards Seokjin. 

Their Seokjin, who did everything in his power to keep his family safe. Their Seokjin, who was brave and kind and relentless. 

"Of course," Seokjin whispered. "Nothing could keep us apart."

The door opened then, and suddenly there was a nurse squawking about their injuries, chasing the weyr away from the bed and making them go into their own. 

"You're going to reopen all your wounds," the nurse scolded, waggling her finger at them. "And the sun hasn't even risen yet, you all couldn't have waited to talk until the morning? Was it really so important that you had to have a conference at 4 AM?"

Hoseok let out a small giggle, but turned his face away when the nurse came over to him to check his bandages, hiding his cheeky grin. 

Seokjin was the only one who didn't move away from Jeongguk's bed, instead the older dragon laid them both down and yanked the thin blanket over them.

"Nice to see those pretty eyes open," the nurse said once she came over to their bed to check on their injuries. 

She looked over the bandages covering Seokjin's wrists, and peeked under the blanket to make sure Jeongguk hadn't jostled the wound on his stomach too much. 

Jeongguk blinked at her, preening a bit at her compliment but shyly ducking his face into Seokjin's chest. 

"Thank you for all your help," he said politely as she rearranged his pillow, her fingers warm when she took a brief moment to pat at his head. 

Seokjin stiffened at the movement for a split second before relaxing, recognizing the touch as a gentle one.

The nurse blinked down at them, and in-between one blink and the next, her eyes flashed gold.

"You are all very brave," she whispered, her voice shaking with emotion. "The bravest weyr I've ever known."

The weyr all inhaled sharply at the words. At the sight. Then she was leaving the room with a silent click of the door, and Jeongguk fell back asleep in a world as gold as summer's day. 

☀

Since they've arrived back home, it felt like nothing and everything had changed, all at once. And in many ways, that was true. 

They were still them –– still a family, still in love. They still protected each other, ate with each other, loved each other with a force that could change worlds. 

But things were different, too. 

One night Seokjin had a nightmare so bad Jeongguk heard it from two doors down and came running to already see Taehyung there, cradling Seokjin's face into his chest. Yoongi had been in the bathroom, already running a cloth under warm water to run over Seokjin's forehead, to soothe him back to sleep.

Another day, Namjoon was angry and snapping at everybody until Hoseok packed their things, loaded them all up into a car Jeongguk wasn't even aware they had, and driving them out of the city to a large mountain lake, where Jeongguk saw Namjoon's hydra form for the first time.

He was every ounce as powerful and gorgeous in that form as Jeongguk thought, his long scaled body seeming like it took up the entire lake. 

Hoseok had even shifted and swam with him for a while, but then came back out after complaining that Namjoon had playfully taken him and flipped him into the air too many times. 

The dimpled man came stumbling out of the lake hours later, grinning sheepishly and wringing his hair out over where the rest of the weyr laid picnicking, his mood much calmer after having been reunited with the water. 

Another thing that felt different were Jeongguk's hoarding instincts. One night, Jeongguk laid half-asleep on his bed when Jimin came in to say goodnight. Most of the time Jimin would crawl into bed with him and latch onto him from behind like a backpack, and Jeongguk would fall asleep to the sound of Jimin's wings fluttering sleepily against the sheets. 

As he's done dozens of times, Jimin reached out towards Jeongguk's face to stroke his cheek. But something about the movement had Jeongguk's heart racing –– Jimin's hand was coming right for his pillow, the pillow that usually would lay atop pieces of Jeongguk's hoard, though everything in it was still at their house in Salus. Even though Jeongguk rationally knew his hoard was no longer there, a small part of Jeongguk's brain screamed at him to protect.

So before he could even process what he was doing, Jeongguk snapped at Jimin's hand with his teeth. Jimin was quick enough to retract his hand at Jeongguk's movement, and Jeongguk's snarl twisted into one of horror before he was slapping his hands over his mouth.

"I didn't mean to," he immediately was up on his knees on the bed, tears brimming in his eyes. "Hyung, I'm sorry, I don't know why I...I didn't mean to!" 

Jeongguk wanted to reach out and grab Jimin's hand to place it on his cheek so the fae could stroke it the way he'd been meaning to, but a deeper part of himself was afraid. For the first time in his life, Jeongguk felt unpredictable. He had no intention of snapping at Jimin, yet within a split second he had almost bitten the fae's hand off. 

"Baby, it's okay..." Jimin moved to cradle Jeongguk in his arms, but Jeongguk shook his head, scrambling back.

"Don't!" he cried. "I could hurt you. What if I..."

"You won't hurt me," Jimin said firmly. "Come here, Guk, it's okay..."

Jeongguk grew even more frantic, eyes trained on the unmarred skin of Jimin's hand. If he had been quick enough, if he'd dug his sharp teeth into the soft flesh of Jimin's palm...it would have been hard enough to bleed. Maybe deep enough to scar.

"Don't," Jeongguk said again, scuttling backwards until he was toppling off the bed on the other side. It was the crevice between the bed and the wall, the place he shoved himself into when Taehyung had come home for the first time and they'd fought.

That seemed like a lifetime ago, when Jeongguk had moved into this spot of the room because he felt as if it was the safest place for him.

Now, he was there because he felt like it was the safest place for him to be to not hurt Jimin.

"Jeongguk, breathe for me," Jimin was on his knees a few feet in front of him, his hands held out placatingly. "You didn't hurt me, see? It's okay, sweetheart. I'm okay."

"I could have!" Jeongguk said frantically, shoving his back against the wall and tucking his knees up underneath his chin. "I don't know why I did that, I just thought you wanted to take my hoard, but I keep forgetting I don't even have my hoard anymore, but even if I did I know you wouldn't, so I don't know why...why I snapped at you like that."

"What's going on?" the door creaked open and suddenly Yoongi was there, crouching next to Jimin and running a comforting hand down the fae's spine in-between his wings. As he did it, his eyes were trained on Jeongguk, worried. "What's the matter?"

Jimin reached out to grasp at one of Yoongi's hands.

"I scared Jeongguk. I didn't mean to, I was just saying goodnight..."

"No!" Jeongguk was interrupting before Jimin could even finish his sentence. "You didn't scare me! I scared you!" 

"Jeongguk, I'm telling you I'm okay," Jimin said firmly. "You didn't scare me, and you didn't hurt me."

Yoongi looked between the two of them, confusion still marring his features.

"I almost bit your hand off!" Jeongguk shouted. 

"Have a little more faith in me," Jimin huffed. "You may be a dragon, but I am still much older than you, fledgling. I'm stronger than you think, Jeonggukie."

Jeongguk shrunk into himself, burying his face into his knees.

"Did you snap at him by accident, little one?" Yoongi's voice was gentle. "Is that what happened?"

Jeongguk nodded miserably. His heart had stopped pounding now, but there was no denying that his reaction had genuinely scared him. He couldn't stop replaying the scene in his mind, the satisfying snap of his teeth as they clamped together, the force behind his jaw enough to shatter bones.

"Oh, Jeongguk. Look at me."

Jeongguk shook his head stubbornly, but then found himself peering up in the following silence anyway. What he found made him lift his head, the love in both Yoongi and Jimin's gazes almost overwhelming. 

"We've been through something very traumatic, Jeongguk. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes," Jeongguk blubbered, lip wobbling dangerously. 

The thought of how much his hyungs must be hurting from everything that's transpired in the past few weeks made sorrow eat at his bones.

"You included," Yoongi said softly. "It's normal for dragons to become a little more territorial after their home and their weyr has been threatened. Your hoard is very special to you, brings you comfort –– which is completely normal for a fledgling your age. It's not wrong or unsurprising that after everything that's happened, you're a little more protective over the spot where it usually is."

"But –– but I could've hurt Jiminie hyung," Jeongguk's voice was small. "I tried to bite him."

Yoongi smiled. "I would bet my entire hoard that you wouldn't have actually bitten him, sweetheart. It was probably more of a warning snap. Your dragon knows who is weyr."

"And besides," Yoongi continued. "It's normal for fledglings to be a little snappish, even if they had not been ripped away from their homes and put through even half as much turmoil as you had been. I'm surprised that you haven't snapped at one of us earlier. God knows Jin hyung and I used to snap at each other all the time."

The words comforted Jeongguk. This was what he'd been missing since his parents died –– a guiding voice, advice from somebody who's been through the exact same things as he had. And now, there were even more dragons out there than he ever could have imagined.

Jeongguk stopped huddling himself away so tightly in the corner.

"Can I give you a hug now?" Jimin asked impatiently. 

The moment Jeongguk nodded, Jimin was flying the few feet over to him, barreling Jeongguk into a hug so tight that they collapsed in a fit of limbs against the floor.

"Careful," Yoongi chided, but the two could barely hear him over their laughing. 

Jimin was placing ticklish kisses all over Jeongguk's face. 

"You didn't scare me, Jeongguk," and to prove it, Jimin placed his hand right on Jeongguk's mouth, pulling the fledgling's lips back to poke at Jeongguk's teeth. "And you never will. I know you'd never hurt me."

Jeongguk wrapped his arms around Jimin in a tight hug, pressing a kiss to Jimin's fingers.

"'M sorry," Jeongguk murmured.

"None of that," Jimin shook his head. "Just shows what a fierce protector you are, hmm? My bet is you'll beat out Jin hyung in strength when you're older."

"I heard that!" Seokjin's voice called from down the hall, and Jeongguk buried his face into the warmth of Jimin's neck, giggling. 

Throughout the next few days Jeongguk never felt the urge to snap at another member of his weyr again, though his lips did pull back into warning snarls more often than not, like when Namjoon reached over too close to his dinner plate, or when Seokjin moved a pile of his favorite blankets somewhere else while cleaning. 

His hyungs found it much more adorable than they should, and instead of cowering in fear like Jeongguk thought they would every time his brows pushed together and his lips pulled back to show his teeth, they just covered their wide smiles with their hands and backed away, their eyes trained adoringly on Jeongguk's face.

He caught Taehyung and Hoseok whispering about how 'cute' it was once, and Jeongguk's face automatically twisted into the snarl, which just sent the other two into fits of laughter, and Jeongguk into Seokjin's arms to pout. 

"You're very scary," Seokjin reassured him. "The scariest fledgling I've ever met."

What had also amplified was Jeongguk's hoarding instinct. He no longer had either of his old hoards, so his dragon seemed intent on creating a new one.

There was one morning where he lounged on Hoseok's bed, watching the siren get ready for work, and genuinely thought to himself that he enjoyed Hoseok's scent so much he wanted every single piece of clothing in the siren's closet in his hoard. Of course Jeongguk never acted on it, but he did nab one of Hoseok's most well-loved jackets for himself, and flushed with happiness when Hoseok came home that day and just smiled fondly at the sight of it in Jeongguk's grasp. 

"You can have it, sweet thing," Hoseok said, passing by to ruffle Jeongguk's hair. "I think you'll give it much more love than I ever could."

And so it began –– Jeongguk couldn't stop himself from taking Namjoon's headphones, and one of Jimin's cat-shaped pens, and the hair tie that Yoongi used to tie back his wavy hair. 

That night Jeongguk was sitting cross-legged on Seokjin's bed, laying pieces of his new hoard out in front of him (there was a lot of it, now, and a few pieces were still in his own bed either underneath his pillow or under the mattress) and counting them. He touched the items with reverent fingers, satisfaction blooming in his veins as he stared at all the pretty things. Jimin had even given him another one of his rings to replace the one he had lost.

Jeongguk didn't even realize he'd taken Seokjin's work ID, connected to a frayed lanyard, and placed it in his hoard until his hyung was slowly coaxing it away.

"I'm sorry, baby, but you can't have this one," Seokjin said gently. "Hyung needs it to go to work."

After a long time, Seokjin's seat on the Council was restated, and he was back to work as the first official dragon Councilmember. Things were still rocky in terms of Seokjin's job and the Council in general, but Seokjin was working hard to create protection laws for dragons.

Jeongguk stared, offended, as the lanyard was slipped away and placed onto Seokjin's desk. Jeongguk loved that lanyard. It was the prettiest baby pink color and the picture of Seokjin on his ID was so handsome Jeongguk wanted to look at it all the time. He deserved to look at it all the time, especially when Seokjin was at work and Jeongguk missed him. Without thinking, Jeongguk let out a tiny chirp and got off the bed, moving towards the lanyard and grabbing it back.

"Jeongguk-ah," Seokjin scolded. 

Pouting out his bottom lip, Jeongguk squeezed the lanyard to his chest.

"Please, hyung?"

Seokjin wavered, looking like he wanted to give in, but then he shook his head and held his hand out for the lanyard. 

Jeongguk's shoulders slumped.

"Don't give me those eyes," Seokjin said, looking pained. "You can take something from hyung's closet instead, hmm? I'd love to give you this, honey, but I need it to get into my building at work. I'm sorry."

And Jeongguk understood, of course he did. That didn't stop the hurt from flowing through his veins at his hyung's refusal. He knew how silly he was being, and wondered how many more years it would take for him to grow out of his fledgling state and for his emotions to level out.

"Okay," Jeongguk said quietly, peeking at Seokjin's picture one last time before placing the ID into his hands. "You look handsome in your picture. I love it."

Seokjin's face melted into a soft grin, though embarrassment at the compliment made his cheeks color. Jeongguk laughed at the sight of it and leaned forward to hug him.

"Look who's being sweet tonight," Seokjin hummed, hugging him back. 

"I'm sweet every night," Jeongguk sniffed. 

Still, when he pulled back, he gleefully pranced over to Seokjin's closet and took his hyung's favorite knit sweater off the rack, hugging it to himself and sending the sweetest smile to Seokjin's exasperated face. 

When Seokjin got home from work the next evening, he presented Jeongguk with a Polaroid camera.

"So you can take your own pictures to keep," Seokjin explained. 

Jeongguk immediately ripped the packaging open and gently placed the film inside, then held the camera to his eye and pointed it at Seokjin.

"Smile," Jeongguk demanded.

Seokjin did, and standing there in their home, his tie and shirt collar undone after getting home from work but with so much fondness in his eyes, he looked the most handsome Jeongguk's ever seen him. 

He took 5 other pictures that night, and instead of sticking them under his pillow, Jeongguk slept with them tucked close to his beating, golden heart. 

☀

Jeongguk peered over the tip of the large hill he was standing on. He had shucked his shoes off a few minutes ago because he liked feeling the grass in-between his toes, and his feet wriggled with nerves.

"Come on, baby," Jimin laughed at him. "Don't be scared."

The fae was flying in circles over his head, dropping down to press kisses against Jeongguk's temple every few seconds.

Jeongguk wrapped his own wings around himself like a cocoon, pouting.

"I'm gonna fall," he grouched, peering down the hill at the rest of his weyr.

"You think Jin hyung would ever let you do anything that could potentially hurt you?" Jimin asked. "You're not going to fall, Jeongguk. We're all right here." 

"Come on, Jeongguk-ah!" Taehyung called from where he was standing far away, waving and jumping up and down.

"Yes, come on," Jimin urged him. "You can't ride around on Jin hyung and Yoongi hyung's backs forever!" 

Though Jeongguk knew neither of the older dragons would mind carting him around for the rest of their lives, Jeongguk nodded determinedly at Jimin's statement. Since he spent so many years of his life in hiding, Jeongguk had never gotten the chance to properly learn how to fly. He could glide, a little, if he dropped from a tall building, and he could flap his wings once or twice, but that was about the extent of it.

"Okay," Jeongguk unwrapped his wings from around himself and spread them wide. They had decided he should learn in his half-shifted form before they moved onto his fully shifted form, where his body was much heavier and more difficult to maneuver. 

His wingspan was still nowhere near the width of Seokjin or Yoongi's, but they were powerful in their own right.

"You got this, honey," Jimin encouraged him, then flew up and away, giving him space.

Jeongguk took a deep breath, trying to remember the pointers that Yoongi had given him on the way there. But before he could think too hard about it, he took a running start, and then leapt off of the hill. In the distance, he could see his hyungs cheering, and he aimed for them.

He flapped his wings once, felt his body go a little unsteady as he used a little too much force. Jeongguk teetered through the air at an awkward slant, a groan of frustration leaving his mouth as he began plummeting towards the ground.

Jeongguk squeezed his eyes shut to block out the ground coming closer and closer, frantically trying to get his wings to cooperate. He never understood how his hyungs made flying look so easy. Jeongguk felt like an uncoordinated puppy tripping over his own ears.

Before he could hit the ground, he was being yanked back up into the sky, cradled against a broad chest.

"Good try, precious," Seokjin laughed as he flew them in playful circles, his arms wrapped tight around Jeongguk.

"No," Jeongguk groaned. "It wasn't good."

"Try again!" Seokjin unceremoniously dumped him back onto the hill, then flew away.

"Hyung!" Jeongguk shouted, his wings flapping uselessly as he tried to regain his balance. 

"You're a dragon, Jeongguk-ah," Seokjin called to him. "Flying is in your blood. You'll get it."

Though the older dragons had flown them out into the countryside for Jeongguk's flying lessons, and they were surrounded on all sides by hills and empty fields, Jeongguk still subconsciously tensed at Seokjin's statement, looking around.

Despite how much time had passed, it would be a long time before Jeongguk would get used to openly announcing their species, after hiding it for so long.

After so many other dragons had come to their aid during their Judgment, and after Seokjin was allowed back to his Council seat, the Council had no choice but to back down —lest they start a war with an entire species that seemed to all of a sudden be brought back to life.

Jeongguk would never forget the way those dragons had swept into the room, scales haloed by the sun, and had protected the weyr as if they were their own. Jeongguk had never even let himself hope that there were more dragons out there, but in hindsight, it all made sense. Of course he wouldn't have been the only one to survive, to be smart enough to hide out and lay low after The Passing.

Almost a year has passed since then, and the world was drastically different now. 

Now, it wasn't an uncommon occurrence to look up and see a dragon flying overhead, whether half-shifted or fully-shifted. 

Now, there were changes being made to the Council, all lead by Seokjin. After the world had seen the Council yanking Jeongguk away and beating him to gain the reaction from Seokjin they'd wanted, more and more species were becoming aware of just how corrupt their government had become. Now, the council had an equal number of seats for each species, despite dragons having the smallest population. 

Seokjin became somewhat of a figurehead for awareness towards dragons and the harmful stereotypes against them, and he was often recognized in the streets.

Misun had been kicked from the Council, and despite Seokjin trying to keep a professional, steady face during the process, he couldn't help but send her a gloating, prideful smirk as she was officially escorted from the building.

Though the re-arrival of the dragons undoubtedly caused uproar, some groups even going as far as to riot against their protection, Jeongguk was reassured that something like The Passing would never happen again.

Despite the existence of hatred and fear towards their species, Jeongguk was now sure that acceptance and understanding far outweighed that. 

"Chop chop, little fledgling!" Hoseok shouted from where he stood with Taehyung, Namjoon and Yoongi. "We don't have all day!"

Jeongguk took a deep breath, gathered all the fear and the desperation and the loneliness that had settled deep into his bones for his entire life, and he leapt.

He let go of it all, and when his wings spread wide to catch his weight — finally, finally, Jeongguk soared.

☀

Jeongguk woke to someone crawling on top of him and winding their limbs around his body in a tight hug. He grumbled, grumpy at being woken up. He burrowed his face deeper into his pillow, eliciting a giggle out of the body on top of him.

"Go 'way," Jeongguk muttered. 

Since he'd began taking classes at the nearby college, Jeongguk cherished his time asleep more and more. Despite his newfound sleepiness, he was in love with learning. Being able to sit safely in class felt like he was dipping his hand into a treasure chest and acquiring something new for his hoard. Learning was a privilege he never thought he'd have.

He soaked up information like a sponge, and every single day he'd come home and tell his hyungs every little thing he'd learned. He was taking classes that ranged from poetry to coding to neuroscience, and Jeongguk loved every single one of them.

"Wake up sleepyhead," Taehyung crooned, pressing kisses all over Jeongguk's face. "We have a surprise for you." 

Jeongguk squinted his eyes open, brows furrowing at the morning light.

Though he loved sleep, he also loved surprises. 

"...What is it?"

Taehyung grinned at him. His mussed hair and morning stubble showed that he'd just gotten up as well, and for a second Jeongguk was struck with how handsome the vampire was.

"You're handsome," Jeongguk blurted, staring up at Taehyung.

Faltering, Taehyung let out a fond laugh.

Leaning down, Taehyung pressed a warm kiss to Jeongguk's lips, the fledgling's face cupped between his large palms.

"My little Jeonggukie," Taehyung crooned, voice gentle. "We're supposed to be the ones wooing you, not the other way around."

"What?" Jeongguk asked, distracted by the kiss and the weight of Taehyung on him and the eyelashes tickling against his. 

Everything was just warm, warm, warm, and Jeongguk thought he could lay here with Taehyung forever.

"Nothing," Taehyung wiggled a playful finger into Jeongguk's ear, making him yelp and squirm out of bed. "Come on, let's go." 

Jeongguk was confused and still sleepy as Taehyung dragged him out of the room and towards the living room. None of his weyr usually ever forced him out of bed like this. Usually they'd be cooing at him wrapped up under the covers, wriggling into the bed with him for some extra cuddles. 

But Taehyung was bouncing excitedly, beaming back at him every few seconds, so Jeongguk followed. The moment they made it into the living room, there was a loud popping noise, and confetti flew into the air all around them, raining down in shiny silver streaks.

"Surprise!" his weyr cried, their excitement filling up the entire room.

Jeongguk stood there, confused. Pieces of confetti got caught in his hair, and all he could see were Seokjin and Yoongi standing in front of him, wide smiles plastered across their faces. 

"Is it my birthday?" he asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"No," Yoongi laughed, rolling his eyes. 

"Then what...?"

When Seokjin and Yoongi stepped apart, Jeongguk finally got a good look into the living room. It only took him a split second to recognize what was laid there in neat little piles.

His old hoard from his apartment, all his books and jewelry and blankets and trinkets, sitting prettily in the weyr's living room. 

Jeongguk let out a gasp, his eyes hopping from one pile to the next, familiarity and the biggest sense of relief washing over him. Jeongguk dove for it, a happy chirp erupting from his throat. He pulled up his quilted blanket and wrapped it all around himself, then grabbed his favorite book and rubbed the soft, leather-bound cover over his cheek. 

"Hyung!" he cried to all of them, overwhelmed.

After the Judgment, Jeongguk hadn't had the strength to go back to his apartment himself. The trauma and the stress that lied around the memory of his fight with Manshik had kept him away, as much as he had yearned for his old hoard.

"It's here, everything's here," Jeongguk whispered to himself. 

He ran a hand reverently over a little plush bunny's fur, and clacked a necklace in-between his teeth, grinning with glee at the familiar taste of the metal.

"We know how much you've been missing it, little one," Yoongi said softly. "We decided it's about time our fledgling gets his pretty treasures back." 

Looking over to the older dragons hopefully, Jeongguk bounced back and forth on the soles of his feet.

"You saw everything? Do you like it? It's pretty, isn't it?" Jeongguk held up every little thing with a flourish, giving his weyr only a split second to voice their appreciation before he was moving onto the next thing, his body buzzing with excitement.

"That isn't all of it," Seokjin gently said once Jeongguk was done. 

He walked over to Jeongguk and pressed a soft sweater into the fledgling's hands. Folded in-between the material was a bag holding a single piece of confetti, a little ring, and a fuzzy headband.

"Jin hyung and I flew back to the cottage last night," Namjoon said. "It took a little while to find everything in all the...mess, but we did it." 

Jeongguk's lips began trembling as he clutched the items to his chest.

The thought of it made him ache, Namjoon and Seokjin picking their way through the dark in the cottage that had been ransacked and destroyed. Rummaging through old blankets and stepping over blood stains and ash just to find these tiny things that made Jeongguk happy.

Since he'd been wearing it when they were captured, the sweater was the only thing that Jeongguk had taken back with him, but it had been dirty and ripped.

Now, it was free of holes and smelled like it had been professionally laundered. He pressed his face into it and breathed.

"Thank you," he murmured into the fabric, never failing to be overwhelmed by the sheer kindness his weyr consistently showed him. "I love you all so much." 

Arms surrounded him then, warmth on every side.

"We'd do anything for you, Jeongguk," Hoseok said.

Seokjin squeezed him tight, bringing a hand up to cup Jeongguk's cheek. "Are you happy?"

Jeongguk smiled up at him, feeling like the ocean reuniting with the shore over and over again, filled up with relief. "The happiest."

☀

This nightmare came with many faces. 

Sometimes, in it, Jeongguk would walk into the living room to find nothing but dust. Cabinets filled with cobwebs and a kitchen sink molded over. He would whirl towards the fridge and find that the Polaroids Jimin's stuck onto it were all faded out, so much that he couldn't make out any of the weyr's faces anymore.

Other times, there would be a fight. Seokjin would look at him with disgust, shoving him aside and ushering everybody else out the door. Jeongguk would be screaming horrible, horrible things, and nobody would respond to him. No one would even look back. 

Sometimes, the nightmare was one Jeongguk couldn't even remember. All he would get from it would be a yawning expanse of the most brittle loneliness he's ever felt, and then his eyes would open.

It wasn't often Jeongguk woke up alone. Even if he fell asleep by himself, dozing off earlier than the rest of his weyr, he'd always come to in the middle of the night to somebody nestling into his blankets, a strong arm wrapping around his waist and pulling him close. 

There was nothing that brought Jeongguk more warmth, realizing that he knew his hyungs by heart now. He knew when it was Namjoon who was spooning him straight out of the shower, even when he used Jimin's body wash. He knew when it was Jimin, the faerie always accompanied by the tiniest patter of his wings fluttering against the sheets, like muted rain on silk. 

And the more he learned, the more he collected into the palm of his open hands – the weight of Hoseok's arm on his shoulders, the dip of Seokjin's spine, the softness of Taehyung's favorite pajama pants – the more Jeongguk settled in. 

And most nights, most days, a happiness so clear and potent ate at him like summer sun diving into skin. But even though Jeongguk's mind forgot – the hurt of it all, the loneliness that's ached within him for his entire life ––  his heart didn't.

It wasn't often Jeongguk woke up alone.

So when he startled awake from one of his nightmares, of his hyungs leaving, of him messing up, of him losing their love, of him not deserving their love, Jeongguk immediately reached over, hoping to roll into one of his hyungs' bodies and calm his frantic breathing.

But there was nobody there.

The sheets on the other side of the bed were cold, untouched.

Breath stuttering, Jeongguk sat up, a chirp rising from his throat unbidden. 

Were they gone? Had they really truly left him?

His legs were tangled in the blanket as he tried to wrestle his body from the bed, tears welling in his eyes as all he could focus on was the darkness, the emptiness, the grating silence of it all––

Jeongguk stumbled towards his bedroom door, chest heaving as his throat battled between chirps and silent sobs. 

He knew what would be on the other side of the door, it would be nothing, it would be a million threads unraveled, it would be dusty furniture and an empty fridge and no scent of his hyungs, not even a lingering trace of it –– it would be him, just Jeongguk, alone like he always has been, left behind even by death. 

Grappling for the doorknob, Jeongguk flung it open, his ears ringing from his own sounds, and it was over, his weyr was gone, they were––

"Jeongguk."

The sound of his name made his knees crumple, and it barely registered when the brunt of his fall was taken by large hands under his elbows, a lap under his shaking legs.

"What's wrong, baby, what's happened?" 

And Jeongguk knew his hyungs by heart.

It was Namjoon who was pulling him closer into his lap in the middle of the hallway floor, in the middle of the night, wrapping his arms around Jeongguk and squeezing reassuringly. Jeongguk didn't realize how loudly he was crying until he sucked in a breath, and his ears rang in the brief silence.

"You're okay," Namjoon squeezed him again, rocking them both back and forth. 

Jeongguk's leg was twisted awkwardly against Namjoon's thigh, but he shoved himself forward and buried his face into the side of Namjoon's neck, wailing. 

"Thought you were gone," Jeongguk cried. "I thought you were all gone, I thought I was alone again."

"No," Namjoon denied immediately. "That would never happen, Jeongguk, do you hear me? We'd never leave you."

A door was slamming open, then, and suddenly there was another set of hands on him, another familiar warmth.
"What happened?" Seokjin rushed out, frantic in his worry. "Why is he chirping, is he hurt?"

"No," Namjoon's voice was a steady croon. "I think he just had a nightmare."

"No one was there," Jeongguk whispered, heart still pounding too hard for him to find embarrassment in his tears. "I woke up, and no one was there, and I thought you all left me, I was alone, and––" 

His breath caught in his throat, and Seokjin leaned in, nuzzling his cheek against his damp fledgling's. 

"Breathe, sweetheart," Seokjin said, rubbing a steady hand up and down Jeongguk's spine. 

"I was coming to join you," Namjoon said, pulling back to try and lock eyes with him. "I just finished corralling Taehyung and Jimin to bed, and I was coming to join you."

Jeongguk blinked up at him, his lashes dark clustered spikes in the lines of his vision. One last, defeated chirp escaped his throat, and then Jeongguk sagged, all of the air in his lungs leaving him in a rush.

"Poor thing," Namjoon pressed a kiss to Jeongguk's temple. "You were so scared, hm? I'm sorry. I should've come sooner."

"'S not your fault," Jeongguk whispered, his throat sore. "I...I overreacted."

But even as he said that, Jeongguk's heart still pumped with leftover adrenaline, leftover grief. 

"No," Seokjin countered. "We'll be more careful from now on, yes? Make sure a hyung's always with you so you never think we've left you again."

"I can't do it," Jeongguk said, voice tiny. Namjoon's shirt was damp under his cheek, the hydra holding all of his limp weight. "I can't do it again." 

I can't be on my own again. The loneliness would eat me alive, after knowing you, after loving you, I'd never survive the loss. 

"You won't have to," Namjoon's voice was firm. "I promise, you'll never be alone again." 

Jeongguk was listless when the three of them rose and went back to his bedroom. When they turned, he noticed that Yoongi and Hoseok were on the other end of the hall, there if they were needed but not wanting to overcrowd. Concern lit their eyes, but Seokjin smiled gently at them and tipped his chin, a silent he's okay. Go to bed.

Namjoon plopped Jeongguk down on his bed and wriggled the both of them under the covers. Jeongguk was recovered enough now to giggle when Seokjin stood over them and tucked them in like sardines, even tucking the duvet under their feet. 

"Get some rest, darlings," Seokjin said, filling the bedside cup with water and helping Jeongguk sit up halfway to drink it. "I'll make sure no more nightmares come into this room." 

Jeongguk turned on his side and shoved his hand under the pillow that was cushioning Namjoon's head. The hydra squawked in protest as his head was jostled, despite the tired smile that was gracing his lips as Jeongguk pulled out a tiny piece of his hoard and settled it underneath his own pillow. 

"You can't control nightmares, Jin hyung," Jeongguk argued sleepily as he settled down.

The room was tucked into darkness when Seokjin flicked out the warm lamp, and Jeongguk's eyes fluttered shut as the warm rise and fall of Namjoon's chest brushed against his arm again and again. 

"For you, I could do anything," Seokjin whispered through the darkness. 

Jeongguk fell asleep like that, and had a sound, dreamless sleep. When he woke late into the morning, Namjoon was gone, but Seokjin was still there, sitting in a chair beside the bed, weaving a half-finished dreamcatcher in his hands. 

☀

One of Jeongguk's favorite places to be was inside his hyungs' hoard closet. It was inundated with the scent of the weyr, soaked into every item collected in there. 

Jeongguk was currently curled up in a nest of sweaters and coats and blankets, tucked away in the far back corner with a wall of old, ornate chests blocking him from sight of the door. It felt like he was sitting inside his very own fortress, and he loved it. Jeongguk laid on his side, sleepy-eyed as he read through a well-loved book about an adventurous girl and a secret garden. 

The door to the closet opened once, quickly, then after a brief pause it shut again. Jeongguk blinked at the disruption, but didn't think anything of it. But then, minutes later, he perked up when he heard somebody calling his name.

"Hyung?" Jeongguk spoke, knowing whoever was looking for him would be able to hear him. "I'm in the closet."

Mere seconds later, the door swung open again.

"Jeonggukie?"

Jeongguk flipped his book upside down to keep his page, then crawled to peer around the chests. Yoongi was standing at the door, eyes a little wild until they settled on Jeongguk's rumpled form.

"There you are," Yoongi breathed out in relief. "The smells in here are so strong I couldn't even find you." 

"Sorry," Jeongguk said as Yoongi strode towards him. "Is something wrong?"

"Were you reading, baby?" Yoongi's voice was gentler now as he reached over to smooth down Jeongguk's hair. "You built a little nest. How sweet."

Jeongguk flushed at the praise. 

"Smells good in here," he muttered. "Like everyone I love."

Yoongi absolutely beamed then, getting down on his knees to nuzzle his cheek onto Jeongguk's, pulling back to press a warm kiss to his lips once he was done scenting.

"Stay here, then," Yoongi said. "Keep reading, honey, I don't want to disturb you while you're so cozy."

Then the dragon was leaving in a hurry, and Jeongguk blinked at his energy. Just as he picked up his book again, Yoongi was back with Jimin in his arms, who was clutching onto an uncut roll of kimbap. Yoongi gently dumped Jimin onto the blankets right next to Jeongguk, who blinked at the fae's sudden appearance. Jimin seemed unfazed, simply let out a little giggle before biting into his lunch.

Without explanation, Yoongi was off again, and Jimin was leaning over to offer Jeongguk a bite of food. 

"Whatcha reading, cutie?"

Jeongguk showed Jimin the cover as he chewed, and suddenly Yoongi was back, this time with Taehyung in his arms, the vampire's eyes barely open.

"Woke me up," Taehyung grouched.

"Nap in here, baby made such a nice nest," Yoongi soothed, pressing a kiss to Taehyung's bedhead before depositing him into the blankest too.

"Um––" Jeongguk oomphed as Taehyung rolled into him to snuggle, trying and failing to save his book from flailing limbs. "What's hyung doing?"

"Oh," Taehyung said. "I didn't realize it was that time of year again."

"What? What time?"

Jimin laughed. "Hyung's herding instinct is acting up. Apparently older dragons in charge of weyrs will have strong impulses to herd everyone together every once in a while, just to check on our wellbeing and make sure we're all safe."

Jeongguk's mouth opened in realization, a small, faint memory of his father doing the same thing when he was young coming to his mind. Whenever it happened, his family would all collect on his parents' bed, and they would watch a movie, or his parents would tuck their sons underneath their arms and read them a story. 

Jeongguk could recall, once, his mother's voice, reading a story about an adventurous little girl and a secret garden.

Sudden emotion swelled in Jeongguk's chest, as Yoongi came back with Namjoon, then Hoseok, then lastly Seokjin. Seokjin was laughing loudly as he was deposited down, squirming around as the nest was too small for all of them to fit. 

"You're squishing me," Namjoon complained to nobody and everybody at once, tangled underneath too many limbs. 

Yoongi moved quickly, silently sliding the wall of chests over a few inches to make more room, then rushing to get more pillows and blankets and coats, dumping them all together to both pad the floor and swaddle his weyr. 

Jimin was fighting to eat his kimbap quickly enough as everybody was shuffled around, with Yoongi pulling and adjusting them every which way. A firm hand was pressing down on Jeongguk's chest to make him lay down, then Hoseok was being settled down beside him. Yoongi picked Hoseok's arm up and wrapped it around Jeongguk's waist.

Jeongguk let out a peal of laughter. 

"Hyung," Jeongguk said, voice fond as he watched Yoongi work.

It was endearing, the concentrated set of Yoongi's mouth, the way he was stuffing blankets in around their feet and making sure they were all touching each other in one way or another.

"Park Jimin, either finish that kimbap or give it to me," Yoongi grouched, impatient as he waited for Jimin to finish so he could properly settle him.

"It's not my fault you decided to herd during lunch!" Jimin squawked, but popped the last of it into his mouth, still chewing as Yoongi bodily picked him up and placed him in-between Seokjin and Namjoon. Seokjin sputtered through a mouthful of the fae's wings, but obligingly wrapped his arms around Jimin's waist anyway.

"Feeling better?" Seokjin asked as Yoongi stepped back to survey his work.

Jeongguk was already feeling overheated, and he was laying on his book like a pillow, but he couldn't stop peering up at Yoongi's face and bursting into little giggles. Joy was bursting through him like fireflies flickering to life on a summer's night. 

Taehyung reached over to tickle at Jeongguk's stomach at the sound of his laughter.

"You think it's funny?" the vampire teased. "You think Yoongi hyung's suffering is funny?"

Jeongguk rolled to escape the tickling fingers, feeling his elbow bash into something soft followed by a groan of pain.

"Stay put, Kookie," Yoongi sighed as he watched the fledgling roll around, Jimin joining in and digging his fingers into Seokjin's ribs too, making the dragon yell out and roll away.

Hoseok hugged Jeongguk tight, nuzzling his jaw over the top of Jeongguk's head. 

"Feel better, hyung?" Hoseok asked Yoongi. "Having all your babies in one place?" 

"I'm not his baby," Seokjin argued, but nevertheless grabbing the edge of a blanket and wrapping it around himself. 

"Right now you are," Jimin sing-songed. "You're only a few months older than Yoongi anyway, hyung."

Though Yoongi was grumbling at their teasing, he did look much more content, staring down at them with infinite fondness in his eyes. He couldn't stop fluttering back and forth, smoothing back Namjoon's hair and rearranging Taehyung's arm and smoothing the blanket more firmly over Seokjin.

"Hyung," Jeongguk called. "Come lay down. It's okay, we're all here."

Jeongguk held out a hand, knowing Yoongi wouldn't be able to refuse his request. Once Yoongi finally laid down, Jeongguk pressed a kiss to the dragon's neck. 

"You take very good care of us," Jeongguk whispered. "Thank you."

And that seemed to calm whatever itch that was fueling Yoongi, because the dragon sagged and let out a low sigh of contentment, eyes roving over their forms as if checking over them, again and again.

Yoongi reached out and pressed a hand to Jeongguk's cheek, stroking his thumb gently over his skin. Jeongguk's eyes fluttered shut, a feeling so nostalgic and safe consuming him. 

He'd lost his family, but he wasn't alone forever like he feared he'd be. He'd lost his family, but he'd gained a new one, just as safe. Just as loving.

"Hyung," Jeongguk whispered, reaching to pull the book from underneath his head. "Yoongi hyung, will you read to us?"

So Yoongi did, his low, crooning voice telling the tale of an adventurous girl, and how a secret little garden led her home. 

☀

Seokjin stared out the window, his arms crossed against his chest as he watched heavy raindrops race their way down the clear glass. 

"It's been hours," he deadpanned. 

He could see his own reflection in the window, the furrow of his brows, the set of his jaw. And he could see when Namjoon slipped up behind him as well, wrapping his arms around Seokjin's waist and hugging him from behind.

"It's barely been 30 minutes, hyung," Namjoon pressed a kiss to the shell of Seokjin's ear. 

"The rain's only getting heavier and heavier," Seokjin stated the obvious.

The minute he heard the pitter-patter of rain coming through the walls, Seokjin had rushed to the window, staring out in dismay at the nearing-torrential weather. He'd fretted from the second it started raining, gathering their fluffiest towels and tossing them into the dryer to warm them, then placing them in a neat, folded stack on the table right by the front door. 

He had sent their maknaes out to the convenience store because Jeongguk wouldn't stop complaining about how Yoongi ate his last bowl of ramyeon, and Seokjin could tell Jimin was getting antsy with nowhere to fly all day. He thought the walk would do them good, and Taehyung was never one to be left out of something that Jeongguk and Jimin were participating in. So Seokjin had waved the three of them away, not even thinking about the darkening clouds on the horizon.

"They'll be fine," Yoongi said from the kitchen. "I'm sure they'll be back soon."

Despite the casual tone of Yoongi's voice, Seokjin could hear the click of their kettle, and the gentle swish of tea leaves being measured out by the spoonful.

"What if Jeongguk gets sick?" Seokjin fretted. "He's still so young. And he's not completely healthy yet. You said yourself that lovesickness could take years to completely leave a dragon's body. What if he gets too cold and all his healing progress is set back? I should go look for––" 

As if they heard their oldest hyung worrying, the front door flew open, and the three maknaes tumbled in like a pile of puppies. They were immediately talking over each other, laughing and gently shoving as they dropped dripping wet plastic bags full of snacks, their jackets being shed and thrown into soggy piles on the floor. 

Seokjin was immediately walking towards them, eyes scanning over their bodies for any obvious injury, and chest relaxing when he could see nothing but a rosy flush in their cheeks.

"Hyung!" Jeongguk exclaimed when he saw him, looking like he wanted to pounce into his chest for a hug, but clearly restraining himself. 

"You three are entirely soaked," Seokjin sighed, unable to help the fond smile overtaking his face as he reached out for the towels, wrapping them up in one each and doing his best to dry all of their sopping wet hair simultaneously. Jimin groaned from under his arm, his face entirely covered by the towel as Seokjin rubbed his hair dry.

"Can't breathe," the fae's wings gave a little flutter, but they were so wet they were hanging a little limp against Jimin's back.

"Your wings are going to be wet for the rest of today," Seokjin chided. 

Jimin peered up at the dragon with puppy eyes, bottom lip pushing out into a lethal pout. "Hyung can just carry me around, then." 

Seokjin leaned in and gave Jimin a flick on the forehead. "You can still walk, brat."

Jimin burst into a peal of giggles, and Seokjin couldn't help his fond smile, leaning in to press a warm kiss to the fae's cheek.

"It's not our fault, hyung," Jeongguk said from where he was now trapped in Yoongi's arms, the dragon ferociously towel-drying the younger's hair as if every drop of rain was personally offending him. "The rain came on so suddenly!" 

"We didn't stop to play in it or anything, we just came straight home," Taehyung stated, Namjoon in the middle of peeling the vampire's sopping sweater off. 

Seokjin's brow raised, and he looked down at Jimin. 

"Is that true, Jimin?" 

Though he was worried about them all being out in the torrential weather, the image of the three of them laughing and dancing around in the rain made his heart swell. They deserved nothing but happiness, and Seokjin was infinitely grateful that nothing they had gone through had stripped his three youngest of the ability to find joy in the smallest of things.

Jimin's mouth opened, and he blinked innocently. "I –– well. Um..." 

"Hyung!" Jeongguk groaned. 

"It's not my fault!" Jimin shouted. "You know I can't fib! Taehyung's the one who always gives away too much information when he's lying, anyway, so blame him!" 

"You're the one who wanted to play in it in the first place!" Taehyung argued back, their voices rising higher and higher in volume as the three argued. 

Jimin let out a wordless, incredulous scream, head shaking back and forth in denial, his little hand coming up to point accusingly at the vampire. Taehyung's brows were drawn down in a fierce glare, but the sides of his lips were twitching as he fought back a smile.

"That's not true! Jeongguk, baby, tell them that's not true!" 

The older members of the weyr sighed as the three argued, and Seokjin reached out to collect the wet towels, half his mind already set towards filling the bath with warm water and tossing some blankets into the dryer to warm up.

"No more arguing," Seokjin said, beginning to herd them all towards the bathroom. "Hobi's taking a nap, you're going to––" 

He was cut off by a violent sneeze. Seokjin whipped back around at the sound. 

Jeongguk's face was scrunched up, his eyes shut as another sneeze escaped him, then another. Seokjin lunged for him with embarrassing urgently and wrapped the fledgling up in his arms, placing his hands on Jeongguk's cheeks to feel for his temperature, uncaring that his own clothing was getting wet.

"Uh oh," Taehyung muttered.

Hoseok came out that evening for dinner, rubbing sleep from his eyes to find Jeongguk sitting sullenly on the couch, a pile of blankets wrapped around his shoulders and his dinner on a tray set on his lap. The rest of the weyr were at the table, chattering quietly to themselves. 

"Why is Jeongguk eating his dinner by himself on the couch?" Hoseok half-laughed, going over to press a kiss to Jeongguk's head. 

The youngest perked up at that, his big eyes peering up at Hoseok, making the siren coo and press half a dozen more kisses to his face.

"He's sick," Jimin said. "Hyung said if he moved his butt off that warm comfy couch then there would be hell to pay."

"Exact words," Taehyung nodded solemnly.

Seokjin rolled his eyes towards the ceiling, ever-suffering. That didn't stop the eldest dragon from eating his dinner at an uncomfortably fast pace, only to get up from his seat and move towards the couch, plucking the spoon from Jeongguk's hands and dipping it into the soup himself, bringing the warm broth to Jeongguk's lips.

"No more playing in the rain," Seokjin murmured. "Not until you're completely healed. Deal?"

Jeongguk smiled at him from around the spoon, and leaned forward to nuzzle his nose into the skin of Seokjin's neck. 

"Deal."

The rest of the weyr stifled their laughter, eyes catching Jeongguk's hand behind his back, two fingers crossed together out of Seokjin's sight. 

☀

"Hyung," Jeongguk said with a huff. "I'm a strong enough flyer now to go. I swear. I could make it, no problem."

"Jeongguk, just last week Yoongi hyung had to catch you because the tip of your wing got caught on a tree and you started falling."

Jeongguk paused for a moment. He'd forgotten that had happened.

"I'll be super cautious," Jeongguk wheedled. "That was just a little accident!"

His university had recently opened a course all about dragons, taught by a dragon who was almost as old as Seokjin and Yoongi. This professor had hoarded as much draconic history as he could, and was working on restoring as much of their species' writings and culture and artworks as he could. Though Jeongguk was a dragon himself, he felt like he had so much to learn about dragons still. There was so much history that Jeongguk still didn't know, little details about their instincts and anatomy that was still new to him.

So he'd enrolled in the class, and had even made a friend who was just around his age, the only other dragon fledgling he knew.

The class was going on a trip to explore the first dragon civilization, now abandoned and in ruins. It was high up in the mountains, so you had to be a strong flyer to be able to get there, or find somebody willing to fly you there. Both Seokjin and Yoongi were both busy with work, and Jimin wasn't strong enough to carry Jeongguk that entire distance.

"Yugyeom's hyungs are letting him go," Jeongguk added.

"He's been flying for longer than you have, precious," Seokjin interjected. "I'm sorry, but no. Yoongi and I will take you some other time, okay? Just us three." 

Jeongguk scowled at him. "I want to go with my class."

"Jeongguk, it's just too dangerous," Yoongi said sternly. "If you fall, or get too tired to keep going, nobody will be there to catch you." 

And, even though deep down Jeongguk knew that they were right, and he really wouldn't mind going on a trip with Yoongi and Seokjin — he just kept thinking of how disappointed Yugyeom would be if he had to go on the trip without him, and it made him angry. In a fit of rare stubbornness, Jeongguk stood from the kitchen table, hands balled into fists.

"Little one—"

"I'll prove it to you," Jeongguk said heatedly, stomping to the front door. "I'll prove that I can make it! I've been practicing, you've been watching me fly, I could do it!" 

"Jeon Jeongguk," Seokjin snapped, tone turning harsh in a way it typically never did.

Jeongguk walked out and cut his hyung off as the door shut behind him. He regretted it almost immediately, but he kept going, taking the stairs all the way down to the street and beginning to walk.

He moved aimlessly, legs burning with the quick pace that he set for himself, expecting a hyung to pull him back at any moment. But Jeongguk walked, and walked, and the sun slowly dipped below the horizon and set.

Reaching into his pocket, he realized he'd left his phone. Almost hopefully, Jeongguk glanced behind his shoulder, looking to see if any of his hyungs had been trailing him this whole time. But when all he saw was a sea of strangers, something in him deflated. Though he should have expected it, after being so willfully stubborn.

Jeongguk loved being coddled by his hyungs, but he also knew that at his age, he should be having no problems with flying anymore. Yugyeom was a great flyer, and a little bit of jealousy and embarrassment ate away at Jeongguk every time he thought about his wobbly flights. He knew this embarrassment was what made him lash out. His weyr had just been trying to keep him safe, as they always have, and Jeongguk had become angry at them for no reason.

"I'm an idiot," Jeongguk muttered under his breath.

When he raised his head to truly look around at the buildings, Jeongguk realized that he didn't know exactly where he was, either. Nervously, he began walking again, hoping that he'd find something familiar, stuffing his hands into his empty pockets. He didn't even have any pieces of his hoard with him for comfort. 

The night grew dark, and Jeongguk continued to walk. Real panic was setting in now as shops began shutting for the night, the streetlights flickering on.

"Are you okay?" a hand on his arm stopped him, the face of a concerned werewolf appearing in front of him.

"I'm fine," Jeongguk answered automatically, blinking away the wetness in his eyes. 

He didn't want help from this stranger. He wanted his weyr.

"Are you sure?" the stranger asked, but Jeongguk had already begun walking again.

"I'll never do this again," he muttered under his breath. "This is what I get for yelling at the hyungs. This is all my fault. I should have just listened to them and gotten sympathy cuddles..."

Overwhelmed, panic rose and rose within him until it was hard to catch his breath.

Finally, Jeongguk stopped, not knowing where his feet had taken him. His gaze had been on the ground the entire time, and tears were making his vision blurry. Jeongguk felt stupid. He'd put himself into this mess, and now he couldn't even get himself out of it. Bringing his hands up to his eyes, Jeongguk took a deep, stuttering breath, willing himself to stop crying. When his breathing calmed down some, he let himself look around.

And he froze.

"Oh," Jeongguk whispered. 

It was familiar, now. Somehow, his feet had taken him back here, had circled him around the entire city and lead him to a place he hadn't been to in so long, but a place so familiar. And, like fate was driving narratives to repeat themselves, like spring finding itself again and again underneath layers of frost, someone called his name.

"Jeongguk!" 

Slowly, Jeongguk turned to find Seokjin running towards him, arms outstretched.

The older dragon pulled him in tight against his chest the moment he was close enough to, his breath shaking as he ran his hands through Jeongguk's hair, down his cheeks and stomach and arms, checking to see if he was hurt. 

"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" Seokjin asked.

Jeongguk just stared at him, eyes wide.

"Jeongguk?" Seokjin asked, dipping his head to meet Jeongguk's eyes. "Please tell me you're alright. You're scaring me." 

"You found me," Jeongguk whispered, awed.

Seokjin's brows knitted together.

"Of course I did," he said. "I was worried sick. We've all been looking for you. We were going to give you a few moments to cool off, but then we realized that you left your phone, and we're going to have a talk about that, but...Jeongguk?"

"You found me again," Jeongguk said. 

He pulled back, and motioned to the street around them. For the first time, Seokjin took a moment to look around as well, and his expression faltered when he realized where they were.

It was the same street Jeongguk had collapsed on, back when he had been lovesick and lonely and just a shell of himself. It was the same street where Seokjin had picked him up, carried him home, allowed him into his heart and weyr with no reservations. Seokjin found him here, again, and though their surroundings were the same, every piece of themselves had been changed.

They say love is a selfish, greedy thing. But love takes and hoards the same way dragons do.

Not with the intent to keep, but to cherish. Not to have, but to be with. To grow. To protect and learn and to fall from broken windows and trust that there will be warmth, at the bottom of it all.

Seokjin let out a little laugh then pulled him in again, pressing their lips together.

"Of course I found you," he whispered. "If the world ended again and again, in every universe, in every life, I would find you, no matter how long it took."

Jeongguk squeezed his arms around Seokjin's waist, nuzzling their cheeks together.

"Even if I've just been a brat and threw a temper tantrum and left the house without my phone?" Jeongguk whispered.

Seokjin let out a little laugh. "Especially then, precious."

Stepping back, Seokjin pressed one last lingering kiss to Jeongguk's forehead, then held out a hand.

"Our weyr is waiting for you, Jeongguk-ah. Let's go home, okay?" 

Reaching out, Jeongguk grabbed tight onto his hyung's warmth.

"Okay," he whispered. "Let's go home."