Oh, it hurt. 

He didn't know where his master had found the pipe - maybe in the trash piled in the alleyway, somewhere - but he certainly felt it. The first strike with it had been to his arm and only the bunching of his muscles stopped his bones from breaking. The next shot had been a kick to his legs, his ankles, which had brought him down. Another hit with the pipe had broken the bones in his thigh, a third aimed to his ribs.

"You want to be a ? You want to attract the attention of anyone around you? You want to anyone who will look at you, huh?"

He could only whimper, trying his best to take the battering, his small ears tucked into his hair in fright. His tail was stomped on and the yowl he released seemed to be an invite for more pain. Several more cracks of the pipe, the last to his head making him dizzy and slum, listless, onto the unclean pavement. The game wasn't so fun, it seemed, when he was on the border of consciousness, when he didn't have the wherewithall to do so much as react to the strikes. 

"Then let them have you. You're nothing more than a anyway. I'll let you see how much worse this world is than I am. You want to cry on me? You have no idea what that feels like. No one is as gentle as I am with my hybrid. But you, your overpriced . I can find a better than you anytime I want."

Through the haze of pained tears and the unfocused cascade of his liekly concussion, Jungkook watched the man who had raised him from a kitten walk away from him, throwing the pipe down in disgust. He let himself fall completely boneless, content to let himself die here. 

It felt like ages, but was likely not more than five, ten minutes, before a man came around the side of the building, frantically scanning. He must have noticed Jungkook then, walking over slowly, like a predator. 

So this is it. He thought, idly. I'm going to get and killed in this alleyway. Wonderful.

"My God, what did he do to you?" The man, who's voice was deep and rich like sweet dark chocolate, knelt down next to him, hands hovering uncertainly, like he didn't know how to touch the smaller man. His hair shone like pink diamond dust in the blur and setting sun. "Can you tell me your name, darling?"

Jungkook went to nod, but his head swam in dizziness and throbbing pain, so he stopped. The man made a distressed noise in the back of his throat and picked up his head and shoulders, pulling him to rest in the crevasse in his shoulder. He picked Jungkook up then, holding him close and whispering careful words, assuring the hybrid that he would be okay now, that he was safe and in good hands, that he would take care of him. 

Jungkook didn't know how much he believed this stranger, but just teh feeling of someone concerned for him in any manner other than how well he could ride them had officially made the pink-haired angel his personal favourite person in existence. 

Jungkook woke up to ice on his forehead and weighty heaviness on his arm and thigh. 

"No, no, sweetheart, don't move."

He opened his eyes to meet the puppyish face of a Rottweiler with minty green hair. The other hybrid offered a sad smile and looked up.

"Jin-hyung! He's awake!"

A tall man with simple mousy brown hair and a quiet demeanour rushed out of what looked like a nice kitchenette and over to him, eyes flickering all over as he assessed Jungkook's face. 

"Thanks Yoongi. Bring Namjoon to me, please."

The Rottweiler nodded and took off, uncut tail swishing with his walk. 

"Hello, kitten." The mousy man cooed, over his small ears. "My name is Seokjin, but you can call me Jin, okay? I'm a hybrid scientist, a doctor. I'm here to look after you. Can you tell me your name?"

His throat felt like sandpaper. "Jungkook.Jeon Jungkook."

Jin gave him a cutesy smile. "Nice to meet you, Jungkook. Can you tell me what happened to you?"

"Master punished me in an alley beside the grocery store." Jungkook replied. "He had a pipe. It's fuzzy."

"And he left you there?" Jin's brows furrowed, like he was upset by that behaviour. 

"Yes. I wasn't being good enough."

Jin made a repulsed noise with a hissed tard before he started petting Jungkook again. "Do you know your master's name?"

"No. I was always kept in my own room until he wanted me."

Jin nodded empathetically. "I'm sorry that I took liberties with your unconscious, but it couldn't wait until you were awake. I've cast your arm, because it was fractured, and your leg, which was broken. You have two fractured ribs, so don't do anything stressful or pick up anything over thirty pounds, okay?"

Jungkook went to nod, but his head felt like it would start swimming. "Okay."

Then, from an archway across the room, a semi-familiar head of pink hair appeared, followed by the Rottweiler. The pink haired man was surprisingly tall and broad shouldered, though the way he held himself spoke of a gangle-limbed klutz more than anything. His face melted in relief when his eyes met Jungkook's.

"You're awake." He sighed. 

"Namjoon, this is Jungkook." Jin said. "Jungkook, this is the man that found you, my friend Namjoon."

"Hi." Jungkook said.

"You don't have a collar or tags, so I'm not going to take you to a shelter." Jin said. "Are you okayw ith staying with Namjoon or would you like me to bring you home with me?"

Jungkook looked between the two of them. "Doesn't matter to me."

Jin nodded. "I'll leave you here then. The less moving you do the better."

"Do you want me to get Taehyung, Joonie?" The Rottweiler asked. 

"If you wouldn't mind." Namjoon replied, moving to sit down on the couch and take Jungkook's dainty hand in his. His smile was dorky, but the dimples were kind of nice. Jungkook liked them, it made Namjoon seem soft and kind. 

Jin handed the other man a bottle. "Jungkook, if you feel sharp pain, a persistent ache, dizziness, lightheadedness or nausea, you have to come to Namjoon right awawy, okay?" He turned to Namjoon. "He reports these things, give him two tablets. If they keep up, you can give him another two in five hours. No sooner, alright?"

"Got it."

"I'll be back in a week to check on you and make sure everything's healing properly, but if something goes wrong, you know where to find me." Jin pet Jungkook once more and hugged Namjoon. 

"Thanks, hyung. What do I owe you?"

Jin laughed. "Nothing. A hybrid needed help. What kind of a specialist would I be if I didn't help them? Especially abused ones, like our lovely Jungkook?"

Jin's smile left him feeling warm. The Rottweiler followed Jin out with a shy wave. A few seconds later a Collie came around the corner, his fur golden and white, one ear pointy while the other flopped down. The Collie immediately gave a boxy grin, his sharp canines prominent. Dopey thing looked harmless, though. 

"Hello! I'm Taehyung! I'm glad you're awake. Joonie-hyung was getting worried that we were going to have to take you to the hospital."

Jungkook blinked owlishly, not expecting the Collie to be so loud.

Namjoon laughed, warm and low, making Jungkook tingle. "Sorry about him. I forget that others are deafened by him." He patted his thigh and Taehyung dropped to his knees, laying his head against Namjoon's thigh and nuzzling into the pets he recieved. He watched Jungkook, though, wide eyes dark, but friendly. 

"You two can't play for some time, though. And when I'm at work, you'll have to help him, Tae. Can you do that for me, honey?"

Taehyung nodded. "Of course, hyung."

Namjoon reached up and scratched behind Jungkook's ear. After the initial surprise, though, he closed his eyes and started to purr. "Good boy. Would you like some pills, Jungkook?"

"Yes, please."

"He's so cute!" Taehyung giggled. "I'll go get him water."

"Add in some of your protein powder. He's been out for three days and hasn't eaten."

"I've been unconscious three days?"

Namjoon looked down at his watch. "Two hours short of four."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sleep so long."

Namjoon's dimples came back out and it eased the tight knot in Jungkook's chest. "You don't need to apologize. If anything, I should."

Jungkook tensed. 

"I noticed you in the grocery store and your old owner had an evil look about him. I should have rescued you then, but I decided to follow you through the store and lost you. By the time I decided to leave and check around the building, you were already beaten. I could only pray that you would be okay when I put you in the back of my truck."

He didn't know how to feel about Namjoon's apology. Master had never apologized to him and he didn't know what to think, what to feel in his new owner's prescence. Well, humble almost never fails, does it? "Thank you for helping me, Master."

Namjoon choked. "Master? No, no, kitten. You can call me Namjoon. Probably Namjoon-hyung, since you look young."

"Eighteen." 

"Oh, wow." Taehyung commented, coming back into the room with a glass of water. "You really are a kitten."

"What do I call you?" He asked, looking up at the Collie.

"Just Taehyung's fine. I'm older than you, but that doesn't really matter. We're both with Namjoonie-hyung, so we're like the same now." Taehyung offered another boxy smile and slid an arm under his shoulder, helping him sit up. He handed him the glass of water and Namjoon offered pills. He took both, washing the pills down and polishing off the water. 

"Thank you." He winced, hands going to cup his ribs. 

Namjoon frowned. "We should move him off the couch."

"He could sleep with me in my room?" Taehyung offered. 

"He'll sleep with me and stay in my room until Jin comes back next week. It's got an en suite bathroom and it's big enough for you two to entertain yourselves when I'm gone to work."

Taehyung nodded. "Let's get you up then. C'mon, Kookie."

He startled at the nickname.

Namjoon gave a booming laugh. "Yeah. I like it. Our Kookie. Let's get you settled, Kookie."

The week was uneventful. Namjoon worked as a producer during the week and was usually home in time for a dinner that Taehyung prepared. The Collie fluttered around the apartment, humming to himself as he cleaned and cooked and then rolled onto his belly beside Jungkook, asking if he wanted to play a board game or a video game or watch a movie, tv, documentary. 

Jin came and beamed, telling him that he was healing fast and properly, like he should. A few more weeks and the cast could come off, even.

"Fast healing like this is common in more wild hybrids." Jin had explained. 

"Wild hybrids?" Taehyung had asked, as if he could read Jungkook's mind and knew he was too shy to ask. 

"Jungkook is a snow leopard hybrid. His animal half is a natural wild animal, unlike you, Taehyung. You're a Collie, which is a domesticated animal."

"Oh." Taehyuung cocked his head and his floppy ear hung like it was disappointed with the answer. 

"His wild factor means that his body is anticipating having to care for itself and therefore heals faster. Nothing either of you can do about it. But you're doing a good job of caring for him, Tae."

"Thanks, Jin-hyung!" Taehyung preened, tail wagging hard. 

Jungkook had come to trust Taehyung quite a bit. He had told the other hybrid about his time in his other home, some of the things that had happened to him, the kind of violence used against him. The Collie had been thoughtful and comforting, laying down on Namjoon's bed and letting his mild scent surround and care for them. If anyone would understand and accept him, another hybrid would be the most likely and Taehyung had soft feelings and a massive heart. Taehyung had held him after he woke up from a nightmare, letting the kitten sob his eyes dry on his shirt, then laying down with him, cuddled close as Jungkook fell into an exhausted afternoon nap. 

They woke up to Namjoon cuddling Jungkook from the other side, large hand buried in the Kookie Monster's hair. 

Jungkook woke up in the middle of the night, a week before Jin said his casts could come off, looking for water. 

"Joonie-ah!"

Jungkook jumped at Taehyung's voice, startled by the sound. He almost sounded hurt, tinted with surprise. It had come from Taehyung's room. He crept over to the other door, slightly ajar, amd peered inside.

Taehyung was face-down ont he bed, clawing at his sheets and in the air. Namjoon was pressed flusht o his back, arms wrapped around his waist. Their intimates were hidden from him, but he would have to be stupid to not know what they were doing. Taehyung had tears streaking his face, whimpering softly. Namjoon was whispering in his ear, but it was unclear what he was saying, only the low baritone of his voice translating over the distance. Taehyung shook under him, expression pulled tight until something snapped and he collapsed with one last low whine. 

Jungkook didn't know what to do. He woke up next to Namjoon every morning and the man had taken such gentle care of him when he was home. He had been nothing but caring and attentive. But now . . . now he was doing the same thing to Taehyung that Jungkook's old master had done to him. His hips ached with just the memory of the violence of those encounters, how he'd stifled every cry of pain just like Taehyung had been. He couldn't go backt o Namjoon's bedroom and wait for him there, likely to take his turn soon on his mostly-healed body and he coudln't hide with Taehyung, where Namjoon currently was. So he did the only other thing he could think of.

He grabbed Namjoon's cell phone from the bedside table and called Jin.

Jin didn't ask any questions and was there in a couple of minutes, Yoongi in the backseat with a blanket and a bottle of Powerade. He crawled in the back of the car with Yoongi, who wrapped him up and pulled him into his arms. 

Jin pulled away, reaching a hand back to take Jungkook's. "Are you okay, Jungkook?"

He was shaking hard, the truth of what he'd seen settling into his head. He'd run from one terrible master to another. 

"He was Taehyung." He whispered. 

"What?" Jin asked, not habing heard. 

"Nam and Tae were going at it." Yoongi voiced, louder. He made the other hybrid look him in the eye. "Tell me exactly what you seen."

"Taehyung was on his stomach and Namjoon was on top of him. Taehyung was crying and, and-"

"Shh." Yoongi soothed. "We're going to take you home with us tonight and you'll sleep with Jimin and I."

"Jimin?"

"He's a rabbit hybrid." Yoongi explained. "A rescue, like you. Okay? We'll all cuddle together and sleep until noon."

Jungkook burrowed into Yoongi's embrace. "Okay."

Jungkook woke up to the sound of arguing, the black bunny, Jimin, laying half on top of him, but Yoongi gone. In his place was the man who adopted Jimin, Hoseok, who was down Jimin's ears in a half-sleep daze wiht his eyes closed. 

"-can't just do things like that!"

"I'm so sorry, Jin-hyung. It's my fault." That sounded like Taehyung. "I'm in my cycle. I needed him."

"The worst thing you could have done is hid the fact you're in a relationshp with each other. Yoongi told you he's been ually abused most of his life when we left him with you originally. Plus, you're a mess in cycle, Taehyung. Your crying frightened him into calling me because he thought Namjoon was hurting you."

"Oh no!" Taehyung whined. "Can I go see him? I'll explain everything, I promise."

"When you're done, bring him out here. We all need to talk, I think." That was Yoongi, who sounded less than impressed with the situation.

A few moments later and the door cracked open, Taehyung's face appearing. His face lit up in a smile as soon as he spotted the youngest hybrid. He slid into the room, careful not to rouse Jimin or Hoseok.

"Hey, kitten. How are you doing?"

Jungkook only blinked at him and he deflated. Taehyung smelt really good, sweet almost. Sugary.

"I'm so sorry. I should have told you. Namjoon told me it was up to me whether or not I wanted to say it." He took a deep breath. "Namjoon and I are in a relationship. We're lovers. We're a couple. We love each other."

Jungkook shifted, inclining his head in Taehyung's direction and he took the opportunity to through his hair, playing with the fur at the base of his ear. "Then why were you crying?"

Taehyung laid down next to him and nuzzled into his neck. "I have fertility cycles, four times a year, at the beginning of each season. I get unbearably and get the desire to be filled with pups. Namjoon satisfies me. But when I'm in cycle, my body is very sensitive and Namjoon is more attentive than normal. The overload of sensations - pleasurable, good sensations - has no other outlet, so I cry. It's nothing bad, or because Namjoon is hurting me."

"Will he . . . Will he touch me like he does you?"

"Not unless you want him to." Taehyung said, over his cheek. "If you have a cycle and you're not comfortable with Joonie, I'll help you."

Hoseok made a noise and Jimin rolled over, pressing his face into the muscular planes of the man's chest. Jungkook sat up and so did Taehyung. The Collie pulled the younger to his chest, ears down and nuzzling into the hair between his ears. 

"I'm so sorry I scared you, Jungkook. I promise it won't happen again. I'll warn you when my next cycle hits so you know when Namjoon and I will be . . . intimate, okay? Will you come out and see Namjoon?"

"If you're with me."

"Absolutely. I won't let anything bad happen to you, Kookie."

Jungkook snuffled at the nickname, pressing a nervous kiss to Taehyung's collarbone. The Collie kissed his head in return and his heart didn't feel quite as heavy.

"I'm sorry for running away."

"I'm just glad that you ran to Jin-hyung, that you ran to more safety instead of danger." Taehyung pulled back and kissed his forehead, then his nose. "Come on. We need to speak to Namjoon."

Jungkook followed Taehyung out to the living room, where Jin and Yoongi were seated on the couch. At Taehyung's appearance, Namjoon stood up. 

"Is he okay?" His voice was thickened with worry and that made Jungkook feel a little better about facing him.

"See for yourself." Taehyung pulled Jungkook around, patting his lower back. The Collie then stepped back.

Namjoon approached him slowly, cautiously, then pulled the snow leopard into his arms, his chest collapsing in relief. "Oh, Kookie Monster, was so scared. Taehyung's cycle finished around six in the morning and when I went to check on you, you were gone. We checked everywhere in the apartment, but you weren't anywhere. I was so afraid that you'd ran off, gotten hurt somewhere I wouldn't be able to get to you this time. I'm so happy you're safe."

Jungkook wanted to cry. Hours of tossing in fear of this man and for nothing. Even if Namjoon was only half as sincere as he appeared to be, Jungkook would be safe with him, cared for and attended to. Loved. He threw his arms around Namjoon's neck and started to bawl. Namjoon hoisted him into his arms and sat them down back in the armchair, petting down the leopard's back as the young hybrid cried. 

"I-I'm so s-s-orry, hyung. I didn-n't mean to scare you." Jungkook sobbed, melting into the man even as his body contracted to heave out more sobs. 

"You're so precious to me, Kookie. So precious. I can't tell you how happy I am that you're safe and okay. I didn't mean to scare you and I hope you're willing to give me a second chance. Do you want to come home with me, Kookie?"

He nodded rapidly, rubbing his cheek onto Namjoon's and purring as loudly as possible. 

Yoongi patted Jungkook's shoulder. "If you're unsure about somethign again, talkt o them. If you're still uncomfortable, give me a call, okay?"

HIs purring got louder.

Jin laughed, shaking his head. "Taehyung, get the door for them, will you? Doesn't look like Jungkook is going to let him go."

Taehyung giggled. "I didn't when he rescued me, either."

That night, Jungkook wouldn't let Namjoon go. He'd cried himself to sleep for the ride back to their apartment, quiet and cuddly when he woke up again. Theyw ould up ordering in, shacked up in Namjoon's room playing Mario Kart, which Jungkook was stupidly good at. Namjoon was braced against the backboard, Jungkook in his arms and Taehyung laying on his stomach beside them. 

Jungkook was giggling as he knocked Taehyung aside. 

"Hey! Cheater!"

Jungkook stuck out his tongue. "You're just angry you're not as good."

"Slander!" Taehyung dropped the controller and jumped Kookie, tickling him mercilessly. They decended into squeals on top of Namjoon, who wound up being the king and tickling both of them with his absurdly large hands, reducing them to squirmy puddles in his arms. 

"Are my pets ready to calm down again, hmm?" Namjoon teased, finally releasing them from their torment and running his fingers through their hair, reaching down to play with their tails. 

"Truce to finish the game?" Kookie offered.

"Truce." Taehyung accepted.

Jungkook didn't call Jin or Yoongi again.His castings came off two weeks after the incident and he started to properly play with Taehyung, rolling on the floor withhim and curling up and around Namjoon's legs when he was making dinner (which would usually be sandwiches unless JIn-hyung was over for a visit or Taehyung was cooking). As the months passed, he felt more and more drawn to teh ocuple he was living with. When his cycle came around (only twice a year for him and very brief), he had been delerious but honest enough to ask for both of them to take care of him. They had decided Taehyung would take him while Namjoon occupied his mouth and ravaged him, careful hand on his throat as they fiercely kissed.

Jungkook came to swiftly love his new little family, got to know Jin and Yoongi better and made friends with Jimin and his adopter, Hoseok, who were a friendly and hyperative couple. 

"Jimin has a monthy cycle that's four days long." Taehyung had explained to him. "That's why he was given up. His owners couldn't keep up with him. Rabbit and all that."

Jungkook had been very thankful then that his cycles were so distanced and short. Though it was very interesting when Jungkook and Taehyung's cycles synced. 

Namjoon had brought them to the mall that day, wanting Jungkook to get a proper and full wardrobe instead of stealing Taehyung's clothes all the time, especially since summer was coming and Taehyung's clothing would slide off Jungkook's smaller body. 

"Hey! You three!"

They stopped, turning. As soon as Jungkook laid eyes on the approaching man, his ears folded back and he tucked himself behind Namjoon's large and gangly frame. 

"You talking to us?" Namjoon asked, hands in his pockets. 

"Yeah. I came back looking for my hybrid and he was gone. You're the one that stole him?"

"I found him with broken bones in a back alley thanks to you. But if you want to call that stealing, you're more than welcome."

The man bristled. "Give him back to me."

Namjoon regarded him with a steady gaze. "Absolutely not."

"How much do you want for hinm, then?"

"I'm not giving him back to you."

"I'll take him back, then."

Namjoon inclined his head. "You're welcome to try."

Jungkook whimpered from behind his hyung. He didn't want him hurt."

The man stepped forward, swinging. Taehyung intercepted the strike, throwing the man to the ground and barking, thick growls and snarls issuing form him that had people stopping to look. His whole body was tense and angry, protective. 

"You didn't have to." Namjoon said, pulling Taehyung close to him again. 

"I can't help it." Taehyung growled out, snapping his jaws in the man's direction.

"I know, baby. I appreciate it."

"What the kind of zoo are you trying to run?' The man yelled.

Namjoon's hand on his neck was the only reason Taehyung didn't lunge again, this time, fangs barred. "I seen two tours in Afghanistan as an attack dog. I'd watch my ing mouth if I were you."

Namjoon pulled Jungkook up to his side, a protective arm around his shoulders. "Do you want to go back with him?"

Jungkook flexed his claws, steeling the part of him that wanted to submissively lower his head and just tank the abuse, not put Namjoon and Taehyung through his spectacle. The other half of him, the part that craved his new family more than the ability to breathe, was stronger. "Go yourself."

The man looked like he'd been slapped, stunned at Jungkook's brazen rebuttal. "I'll get you yet, you ungrateful ."

Namjoon made a considering noise in the back of his throat. "He's a very considerate lover, actually."

Taehyung snarled again. "Come at either one of us with a pipe and I'll teach you a lesson in close-combat urban warfare, you ugly off prick."

Namjoon quietly led them away after that, guiding them into a hybrid-specific store, grabbing the closest swimsuit and asking for the largest changeroom. Once safely hidden away, Namjoon and Taehyung were hovering over him. 

"Are you okay?" Namjoon asked. 

"I really will kill him if I see him again." Taehyung promised. Namjoon tsked. "What? I'm not sorry. I'll end his miserable life without a second thought. He hurt my Kookie."

Jungkook hugged them both. "I'm okay. Better than okay. I've got you two."

They took their turns kissing the maknae.

"But I can't wear that swimsuit. Joonie, it's yellow."