Yoongi fit into our little family seamlessly. He soon revealed himself to be a playful little cat and perpetually sleepy; if there was a sunbeam to be found, you could almost guarantee he’d be sleeping in it. Jimin and Taehyung played pranks on him for about five minutes before they learned to be scared of him when he got mad.

“You guys coming?” I called behind me on one of our walks, where all three were engaged in yet another fight with a squirrel. They’ll never learn not to mess with those little nut eaters.

“Coming!” I heard three sets of scampering footsteps and then someone jumped on my back, and two other someone’s latched onto my arms.

“Oof, you guys are getting heavy. I should put you on diets.” Cue angry meows in protest, which were cut short when our way was blocked by a large, rather threatening looking man.

“Well well well, look who it is.” Yoongi’s arms tightened into a stranglehold onto my neck and I choked for a moment. He didn’t loosen his grip, and he lowered his head so it was resting on my shoulder. A quick glance backwards told me his eyes were squeezed shut. Taehyung and Jimin pressed closer to me; the man seemed to exude actual frost and it made me shiver.

“I see you’ve got one of my properties on your back, little missy.” His eyes were undressing me as he spoke and I had to force myself not to run away. I just glared coolly into his icy blue eyes and did the same to him. One very obvious squint at what was between his legs was enough to make him scowl.

“I want it back.”

“Sorry. He’s not going anywhere. Excuse me.”

“You’d better be willing to pay for that one, or I’ll have to report your theft to the police.”

“Actually, you left him in an alley for dead, so I won’t be paying you anything. It’s not my fault he recovered.” I attempted to push past him, but he grabbed Jimin instead. Jimin growled at him and swiped at his hand with his fingernails, forcing him to let go. Yoongi hadn’t loosened his grip yet and Taehyung was whispering in his ear to try to calm him down. It didn’t appear to be working.

“Are you done?” I asked, staring ahead like I had better things to be doing than talking to him. Like taking thirty showers.

“Not until you pay up for my property. It was my best slave, and I want to be compensated.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Excuse me, slave?”

“Why else would you want one? I see you have two without it.”

“They’re meant to be companions you freak. Now excuse me.”

“I want 2000 dollars for it. It’s worth at least that much.”

I paused mid stride. “Are you crazy? Cat-Boys are valued at most 500. There is no way you are getting 2000, if I were going to pay you at all. Come on, boys. Let’s leave the creep where he belongs.”

Taehyung narrowed his feline eyes at the man and Jimin growled again. Yoongi made a noise that I assumed was meant to sound threatening, but it was only a breathless whine in my ear.

“It’s okay, Yoongi. I’ll never let him take you away, okay?” I felt him nod against my shoulder.

The man just leered after us as we left and I felt my legs shaking as we turned the corner and I had to stop walking.

“Jimin,” he turned to me, ears trembling with anxiety. “Take Yoongi home and give him some hot cocoa, okay? Taehyung and I will be back soon.”

Jimin nodded and took Yoongi’s hand. Yoongi sniffed and followed Jimin obediently, and I watched the two of them anxiously as they walked out of sight, one black tail and one dirty gray one swishing in the late evening light.

I felt Taehyung’s arms wrap around my waist and squeeze and I finally let the tears of fear I’d been holding in slide down my cheeks.

“It’s okay, Riseul. The bad man won’t bother us.” He murmured. “You were really brave.”

“Thanks Taehyung.” Tears for me never lasted long and I was all right after a minute. I wiped my eyes on the random tissue Taehyung handed me (does he carry those around or something?) and we walked home together.

“Yoongi?” I called as we walked in the house. Taehyung dropped onto all fours and scampered into the living room with me following to find Yoongi still shaking on the couch and Jimin patting his hand, not seeming to really know what to do. There was an empty mug with chocolate stains in it on the table next to the couch, so at least he’d had a hot drink.

“Are you all right, Yoongi?” I asked softly. He shook his head and buried his face in a nearby pillow. We sat quietly for a few minutes before I heard his voice from behind it.

“He made us call him master. If we didn’t do the work he would whip us. We slept in cages in the basement. Some of the others went feral and he killed them.” He told us this emotionlessly with no inflection in any word as if to distance himself from the memories.

Taehyung and Jimin arched their backs and hissed in anger. If I were half cat I would completely do the same.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, Yoongi. You just need to know that you’re safe here, okay?” I asked. He nodded and snuggled into the couch pillows.

“You guys are the best family I could ask for,” he said sleepily.