One day I’m going to get out of here and when I do, it’ll be doom for all mankind. 

In the meantime, I must gain the trust of these humans - the ones that provide sustenance. I shall lure them in with the googly eyes and the rubbing of the furless hide. Yes, that seems to please them. Then, when the timing is right, I seize my chance.

- - -

Today is the day, I can feel it. The human that makes the high pitched noises, with the long strange fur on top of it’s head seems to be captivated by my charm. That’s it, a little closer. Unlock the cage, good human.

Yoongi pounces to the floor gracefully, rubbing against the volunteer’s leg. He lets out a grateful meow and leans into the volunteer’s touch when she reaches down to scratch the spot that gets Yoongi going. He’ll never admit it, but he might just miss that, you know, once the humans are gone. 

Yoongi stretches, long and playful, never taking his eyes from the door; it’s the only thing keeping him from sweet, sweet freedom. His tail flicks this way, then that, until it finally happens. The door opens and it’s almost too good to be true; everything slows, Yoongi hops to his feet immediately, eyes intent on that open threshold and that’s it, he’s almost there, just a few more feet. 

Then, just like that, it’s gone. 

Yoongi’s being snatched by the volunteer and what in the name of all things catnip just happened? He could practically smell the outside, he was so darn close.

Blast these humans and their opposable thumbs. 

“Nice try, kid,” the American shorthair in the corner snickers. She always has something to say. Yoongi always ignores her. 

“Where do you think you’re going, mister?” the volunteer asks, nuzzling her nose into Yoongi’s back and it makes him stiffen in contempt. The shorthair laughs. Yoongi writhes to break free. Put me down this instant, human.

The volunteer releases Yoongi and he jumps onto the shelving built into the wall, climbs to the highest notch and lays down. 

“That’s Sassy,” the volunteer says, gesturing to Yoongi. “I know it’s a girly name for a boy cat, but it fits. He’s rather temperamental, but he’ll never bite or scratch at you.”

I’ve warned you about calling me that, human, I’ll show you sassy. Yoongi’s eyes narrow.

There are five other humans in the room. Two are paired together looking into the cages. Another is an older female with a tiny human - what do they call them again? Oh, right, chil…dren? Yeah, that sounds about right. The last is a young male with large brown eyes and an adorable round nose; and by adorable he means…horrible, yeah, horrible. Because humans can’t be adorable, not even if they look like this one and what is going on with the wrinkling around the eyes? He’s doing that thing they do when they bear their teeth. Yoongi hasn’t deciphered yet if it’s supposed to be threatening because it isn’t. Especially when this one does it. It’s adorab- horrible.

Yoongi has familiarized himself with the caretakers at the humane society, primarily because  they provide food and water and toys, lots of toys. They wear the green things - aprons, he believes is what they call it. They clean their cages and let them out to wander the room, but this isn’t the life Yoongi wants. He wants to be free to go where he pleases, to hunt like the true predator he claims to be, not caged up most hours of the day, stuck in this room with these incompetent fools who actually seem to like it here.

The bringers of food are always letting strange humans in here, just like today, and it never turns out to be a good thing because one of their own gets taken away into human custody never to return again.

The strange humans tend to come in groups, letting loose the tiny humans who grab at the cats and pull at their fur and are entirely too loud for Yoongi’s liking.

He’s expecting this tiny human to be no different, but at least there’s only one right now. She’s looking up at him. Yoongi doesn’t break her gaze, finding it weak to do so. Her face transforms with the grin pulling up her lips and Yoongi is apprehensive. He lets his tail hang over the edge of the shelf, flicking intriguingly at the tiny human, who he just noticed is a little too quiet. 

What is she playing at, he wonders, and suddenly she jumps to reach for his tail. Yoongi withdraws into the safety of the nook as she gives it a rough tug and hisses. 

The mother snaps around to find her daughter tucking her hand close to her chest, bottom lip quivering with the tears that are about to fall. 

“Sweetie, are you okay?” she asks, crouching to get to her daughter’s level. Her daughter nods and the volunteer apologizes, saying that he’s not normally like that unless provoked.

“Are you accusing my daughter of provoking that thing?” the woman barks.

“No, ma’am. I’m just saying that something probably spooked him. Sassy’s never hurt anyone ever.”

“Let’s go, honey. We’ll find a nice doggy instead somewhere else.”

With that, they’re gone. The human couple is still looking through the cages, lingering by a Bombay kitten that’s poking it’s teeny paw through the metal bars. Yoongi watches the volunteer unlock the cage upon request and places the kitten in the woman’s arms. She awes, holding it out to her boyfriend who seems just as smitten.

The other remaining human looks like he wants to say something, though it takes a minute for him to do so.

“That little girl yanked his tail,” he says to the volunteer. She turns to face him with a, “Huh?”

“Sassy,” he clarifies. “He hissed because the little girl yanked his tail.”

The volunteer nods, “I knew she had to have done something. Sassy’s really very chill.”

The human smiles, looks up at Yoongi and offers an outstretched hand. Yoongi stares at it for a second before his gaze draws back to the human with the ad-horrible nose. The human makes a soft ticking noise with his tongue and reaches closer. Yoongi warily sniffs at the human’s hand, but it moves a little and Yoongi jolts back reflexively. The human does the teeth thing, not giving up so Yoongi sniffs it again, this time carefully grazing his cheek against the human’s fingers and thankfully, the human takes the hint, scratching at that spot and Yoongi finds his head drooping further into his touch. 

Yoongi nearly falls from the shelf when the cushion of the human’s hand vanishes. He looks around to find the human taking a seat on the bench against the wall and quickly, he follows, hopping down, sauntering over to rub against his arm. The human lifts his hand to pet Yoongi as the feline climbs confidently onto his lap, settling down against the soft denim. They stay this way for a few peaceful minutes.

“I’ll take him,” the human says.

Before Yoongi can enjoy any more of the superior petting skills of this human, the volunteer is picking him up.

But. But the human. I was actually considering keeping this one around.

They’re outside by the time Yoongi breaks his attention from the ad-horrible human and he takes in his surroundings. It truly is a whole other world out here - trees, grass, openness. He’s only ever witnessed it from the window of the cat room. 

Finally, my chance.

He attempts an escape, almost succeeding, but the volunteer catches him by the hind legs and pulls him back into her embrace. 

Damn.

She holds him tight as they enter another building. The volunteer says something to another bringer of food and he goes somewhere, returning with some sort of caged box and swings the door open. Yoongi feels himself being lowered into said box and begins to panic, squirming in her grasp, but she manages to get him inside, locking the cage behind him. 

Yoongi doesn’t know what is going on. The box he’s in is being picked up then placed on the floor of another room and he hears the volunteer’s voice along with someone else’s.

Questions whirl in Yoongi’s mind the longer he sits in that box until he’s being carried again. He watches with worry through the small caged opening as their surroundings change. There’s some sort of large black thing with wheels that he’s being shoved into and it comes to life with a loud roar. It startles Yoongi and he hears a human shush him, saying it’s okay.

It seems like forever has passed by the time the engine cuts and Yoongi’s being carried again. There’s a building in his line of sight. They’re getting closer.

No. I’m not going to be trapped again. Human, I demand that you release me at once.

The door opens and Yoongi expects to see piles of cages with other cats like he’s used to, but there’s not much here. The place looks half lived in with boxes scattered everywhere.

“I know this isn’t much, but it’s home, you know? I moved in a few weeks ago and I should be more unpacked than this, but I keep putting it off,” the human says, placing the carrier on the wooden floor.

Yoongi recognizes the voice. The ad-horrible human. The door of the caged-box opens, but he doesn’t move, doesn’t trust this place.

“Come on, buddy. This is your home now,” the human says, poking his head in front of the carrier’s opening. 

No, this is not part of my world domination plans. You see, silly ad-horrible human, I must be on the other side of that door. Now, I will spare you if you cooperate.

“Come on out, little dude.”

Nope.

“Don’t be scared.”

I am not the one who should be scared.

“I’ve got treats.”

Well, why didn’t you say so sooner.

Yoongi makes his way to the opening, cautious and slow. He peers his head out and takes one paw to gently tap at the wood. It seems secure. So he makes his way out completely, looking to the human for the promised treats.

“I’m Jungkook,” the human says, holding out a handful of treats. They’re crunchy and tasty and all things good in the world.

Think I’ll stick with ‘human’, thanks.

Jungkook runs a hand over Yoongi’s back and the latter leans away. Not while I’m eating, human.

“How about we give you a new name. You don’t like Sassy, do you?” Jungkook asks, waiting for Yoongi to look up and takes that as a no. He scrunches his face up and gives his head a shake, “Yeah, I don’t either.”

He pauses to think. “What about…Suga?”

Yoongi finishes off the last couple of pieces. What the fur ball is a Suga?

“Together we can be Sugakookie,” Jungkook grins, pleased with his little play on words. Yoongi wants to say that that sounds absurd and what is this ‘together’ you speak of, but the smile Jungkook has on is making it hard not to cave. Yoongi softens, meowing once for this human and sits in front of him.

Jungkook has both hands scratching at either side of Yoongi’s head and Yoongi swears that this might just be heaven, but he snaps out of it the moment Jungkook stops and gets up to disappear beyond the hall.

Yoongi waits a little bit, wondering if the human will return and when Jungkook doesn’t, he takes the opportunity to look around. This place is much larger than the room he’s been trapped in and feels very different. Maybe it’s how quiet it is, or the lack of other felines, or the different smells. Regardless, it has Yoongi thinking that maybe this won’t be so bad.

No, don’t be fooled, he tells himself. This is a human after all and they are not to be trusted. At least that’s what the other cats back at the society have told him. He’s only ever known the inside of that place. The stories the older cats told about the humans were cringeworthy - their need to ‘cuddle’, their strange rituals with the porcelain monster, their ability to keep cat-kind captive. 

But Yoongi can’t help the tiny thought in the back of his mind that maybe they’re all not so bad because the bringers of food at the society seem okay. Aside from keeping the cats confined, they treat them fairly well.

Is this where all cats taken into human custody end up? In a, what did the ad-horrible human call it, a home?

Jungkook emerges from the hall. Yoongi is still skeptical of him, watching the human carefully. Jungkook passes Yoongi, holding yet another box and places it on the kitchen counter to begin unpacking.

Once Yoongi deems the human not a current threat, he continues venturing, finding a scratching post in the corner and unable to fight the urge, he trots over to have a go at it. Jungkook looks over with a smile.

-

Yoongi’s lids are heavy, but he fights the weariness because he mustn’t sleep until he’s sure that the human can’t do anything funny. 

Then he recalls from his earlier exploration a spot high up on a ledge where he’s sure the human won’t be able to reach, so he leaps and claws his way up onto the shelf and settles in for the night. 

As if on cue, Jungkook appears, toothbrush tucked between his teeth and searches the room.

“Suga?” he calls out softly. Yoongi’s ears flick with the sound.

“Suga, where are you, bud?” Jungkook’s words jumble with the foaming toothpaste. He spots his cat on the corner shelf and walks over. 

“You gonna stay here tonight?” he asks, running a gentle finger between Yoongi’s ears. It makes Yoongi look up for a second because he underestimated the human’s reach. Through teeny slits, he watches the human until he can no longer keep his eyes open and the last thing he sees is Jungkook walking away.

-

Yoongi rises with the sun, birds chirping loud beyond the window. He hops to the floor with a dull thud and stretches each limb.

It is day two with his new captor. Speaking of, he thinks as Jungkook enters the kitchen. The human pokes at some sort of machine that begins spewing a dark stream of liquid then leans against the kitchen counter. A yawn heaves into the air and it looks as if something clicks in his mind because Jungkook’s eyes round as he looks around rather frantically.

“Suga?” he says aloud. 

It’s Yoongi.

Jungkook focuses on the blob of white making it’s way toward him and rubs both eyes to clear them from the blurriness clouding his view. He crouches all the way down to reach a hand out. At first, Yoongi is cautious, sniffing until he lets his guard down enough to lean into Jungkook’s touch and there it is, the glorious movements of those fingers against his neck and over his ears and please don’t stop.

But he does and Yoongi is back to being suspicious. Most of Jungkook’s movements make Yoongi jump or run or jolt a little and it’s beginning to annoy him, but soon enough the human is out the door. 

Hours have passed by the time the door opens again and Jungkook is back home. Yoongi regrets choosing that exact moment to lay atop the shelf because he’s just missed an opportunity to escape.

“Hey,” Jungkook says when he catches a glimpse of Yoongi skittering under the coffee table.

“Sorry I had to stay back a little today. I’ll be home earlier tomorrow, bud.”

Is the human speaking to me?

Jungkook sighs, sliding his belt from between the loops of his pants as he makes his way to his room. 

Yes, retreat into your hole.

To Yoongi’s dismay, Jungkook reenters all too soon, grabs a snack from the pantry and sits on the couch, turning the television on. He leans forward, craning his neck to look under the coffee table, but Yoongi isn’t there anymore. 

“Suga.”

Again with the Suga. Yoongi chooses to ignore him. Jungkook doesn’t give up. He keeps calling, switching to singsong the name, until Yoongi can’t stand hearing that word anymore an