powerboys | Can't breathe in the sunlight

"You got a bunny, huh? We'll see about helping that bunny find you." Yoongi made a mental note of it. Shouldn't be too hard to find out where Cheon's latest flame had lived, his people tended to be on top of these things. "You won't have to sleep by yourself today, yeah? Promise. Namjoon-hyung and me are gonna be right there if you need anything."

The car stopped and the door was opened for them shortly after, so Yoongi carried Jungkook with him right to the elevator. He let Namjoon press the button and tried to be tactical about this. "I'll give him the tightest of my shirts I can find to sleep with."

Obviously it was still going to be way too big, but whatever. It would be clean and soft and that was nice. "Do you know how to take a shower, Jungkookie? Hyung will help you."

Seemed like it'd be a good idea to get some of the grime off of him, so he could begin healing. "Can you warm up the dumplings we got in the fridge, Joon-ah? Just that tupperware thing, put it in the microwave for two minutes. Dipping sauce is in the fridge too. Don't microwave that."

He would have given less specific instructions, but it was Namjoon in the kitchen. Better be safe than sorry. "See if you can find out where the kid used to live and get some men to get all the stuff out of there. They can bring the kid's stuff here, rest into storage."

The door opened and Yoongi nodded, mostly happy with the plan they now had. "Do you wanna wash and be all clean, Jungkookie? Let's do it, yeah?"

"I'm on it. We will buy some clothes too. Could use having back ups for now, they might be nicer than some of the older stuff." He wasn't sure if it was a long term move or not cause technically, they just bought this kid but they weren't really keeping him... right? He would have asked but he didn't think this was the kind of discussion to have around the child. Regardless of what happened, he'd get the boys bunny back.

"I can eat by myself too." Jungkook mumbled as he raised his fist to rub at his eyes, they were all achy and stingy from crying. He didn't like it. "With a spoon."

"Woah, such a big boy. I'll go heat up some food and you can show me how good you are with eating." Namjoon praised happily, smiling at the boy. He looked an absolute mess, he really hoped that a shower and some sleep would bring some life back into the kid.

Jungkook watched Namjoon leave towards the kitchen and rested his head against Yoongi's shoulder. "Eomma helps me wash." He'd never done it by himself before. It was scary. "I don't like the bubbles in my eyes."

"Then I'll help keep the bubbles from your eyes, yeah?" Yoongi walked into the bathroom, knowing that it was likely to be bigger than most of the kid's entire flat, but that didn't matter so much. There was a tub and there was a shower, that was what mattered. "Tomorrow I'll show you the best way to have a bath in the bathtub, but it's really late today, so we will wash you quicker."

That said he helped Jungkook get out of the torn and grimy clothes, setting them aside. He helped him into the shower and made sure the water was the right temperature before starting to shower his body, putting some shower gel into Jungkook's hand so he could help with washing himself. Washing the hair was trickier, so Yoongi did most of that and very carefully, but Jungkook was a good boy about it and they managed very well together.

"You are a big boy already, you know that?" He moved to get a nice towel and wrapped the boy into it before helping him step out of the tub again. "Now the challenge is going to be finding clothes for you, because... I don't think you can fit into my underwear, do you?"

He smiled, making sure Jungkook knew he was joking. "But if you wear my shirt, it might be like a night dress for you..."

Jungkook didn't like washing but what kid did? It wasn't never much fun. He'd never seen a bath before, or a bathroom this big, his own was small with just a shower and a sink. Usually he managed to skip bathing when his eomma was working and not paying attention, it was always so hard. He liked it today though, it made him feel better.

The water was hot, the towel was soft, it was all nice and comforting feelings. He closed his eyes and dropped his wet head against Yoongi, dead on his feet but still too wired to just go to bed.

"Mister, I have an owie." Jungkook whimpered and pulled back from where he was, knowing he wasn't supposed to complain but the man was so nice to him, taking such good care of him. He pointed at his cheek where he'd been punched by Cheon, hoping maybe he could do something to make it better. Eomma always kissed it! "I was hiding and he got mad. I didn't mean to be a bad boy."

He blinked up at Yoongi, worrying his lower lip. "I wanna be a good boy."

"Then you're doing a great job, Jungkook, because I've just met you, but you seem like the best boy to me." Yoongi leaned forward and kissed his cheek, not quite sure what else to do. Most of his reference for how to deal with children came from books, television shows and more second-hand knowledge, he certainly hadn't experienced it himself like this. But he wanted to make this boy feel better. "I'll get you a cool pack and then you can hold it against your face and it will hurt less. I promise."

Yoongi smiled and picked Jungkook up. "Do you want to know what I think? I think you've been a really, really good boy and those men that were mean to you? Cheon and the others? Those are bad boys. The worst."

He nodded his head and walked over to the bedroom, stopping by his closet. "All right, this is not gonna be easy..."

He opened the drawer to look through the shirts he wore to sleep, a lot of them fun and some band shirts and the like, stuff he couldn't wear on the job. "Do you like black, Jungkookie? Most of my stuff is black."

He really wished he had more whimsical tastes right now.

"Cheon is a bad boy." He swore, he hit, he stayed up late and he raised his voice indoors. That was a very bad boy. He traced his owie a little as he felt a tingle from Yoongi's lips - it was like Eomma. Maybe this man was going to protect him. Tae said that people couldn't always protect each other, even if they really, really wanted to. Like Tae wanted to but he couldn't. What if this man was nice and wanted to protect him but couldn't? Cause Cheon was bigger, he could hurt him.

His tummy felt weird and he held the towel closer, too many worries in his little head. He wished Eomma was here to make all the worries go away.

"I like black." He didn't have a strong opinion. He liked more colourful stuff but he was excited to have clothes again. He missed his dino pyjamas but they were icky. He looked around the bedroom curiously, too afraid to explore. It was as big as Tae's bedroom! Bigger, even.

So many big rooms lately. People had nicer houses than he had.

"Then black it is." He had found a shirt that was tight on him as he looked through and he helped Jungkook into it. Just as predicted, it was like a loose kind of dress on him, but hey. That made him not wearing underwear less awkward. "We'll get you proper clothes by tomorrow."

That shouldn't be that much of a challenge. He helped Jungkook adjust the shirt a little and then lifted him onto his and Namjoon's bed and, after just a moment's thought, walked over to one of the shelves and found one of Namjoon's many Ryan plushies. He handed it to Jungkook and smiled. "Do you know Ryan? Namjoon-hyung loves him."

That said he set about actually preparing the sofa for someone to sleep on it.

"Nuh-uh. Hello, Ryan." Jungkook greeted politely as he studied Ryan intently, looking him over and then hugging him to his chest. He was a nice stuffed toy, he was really sad that soon he'd be to old for them. Tae said he was too old for them and he was still little so that meant he didn't have that long left to hug as many soft toys as he could. He buried his face against Ryan's and sniffed it a little. Smelled nice. Like fabric softener.

"I like Ryan." He was nice and soft, smelled like fresh laundry. "Can we be friends?"

"Oh yeah. You can. Namjoon says Ryan is the best of friends, so I'm sure he'll be a great friend to you too." Namjoon definitely did not consider himself too old for stuffed toys, so here was hoping that would help Jungkook realise there was no cut off date, not that Yoongi knew his thoughts on it. "And you and me and Namjoon can be friends too, yeah?" Yoongi finished making up the bed and then reached over to pick up Jungkook, lifting him high before he fell down onto the sofa bed with him.

"Got you". He laughed and hugged him close. "Are you hungry and thirsty? Do you want to eat here or in the kitchen?"

Namjoon's friend was Ryan? But he was soooo big. So busy staring at the soft toy, he didn't notice he was going up until he was really high up. He was scared at first but then he looked down, looking at Yoongi and the way he was. He had a nice smile and a laugh that made him feel less scared. Jungkook mimicked his smile, looking at him so curiously. Why was he so nice to him? Did he know Eomma? That seemed strange. All of Eomma's boys didn't like him. They were meanies.

"Kitchen is for eating." Jungkook nodded wisely, hesitating but smiling a little wider at Yoongi. "Are you really gonna keep me safe, mister? There's a lot of bad people... I don't want to go back."

"I'm gonna keep you safe, Jungkookie. I promise. You can ask Namjoon too, he knows." Carrying Jungkook - and Ryan - he headed for the kitchen, glad to smell dumplings instead of burning. With Namjoon, one never knew. He sat down with Jungkook on his lap, since he didn't want to make him have to kneel to reach the table. They'd have to figure that out, get a booster chair or something?

For now he handed Jungkook a spoon. "You can eat with your hands too."

Might be easier, but hey. He just wanted the boy to eat. "All the bad people that hurt you, they are scared of me. So I'll protect you. Isn't that right, Joon-ah?"

"Oh yeah, everyone is scared of Yoongi hyung cause he's so strong and cool but he's not really scary. He just pretends so the bad people go away. The good people, like me and you, we know the truth." Namjoon laughed and winked a little at Jungkook, stealing a dumpling and eating it. He was hungry too, the food at that party sucked. "Oh, you met Ryan?"

Jungkook nodded his head and kept one hand wrapped around Ryan so he didn't fall, looking up at Yoongi. He didn't seem scary any more. He was real scary at first but now he wasn't so scary - he was warm and safe.

He took some dumplings with the spoon and ate slowly, quiet as ever but a lot more at ease than before. Namjoon looked at Yoongi and smiled a little. Hey, progress!

"You like juice?" Yoongi watched Jungkook eat and finally held out the glass Namjoon had prepared to him too. His guess was that the boy definitely needed some liquid, food and sugar, they probably hadn't taken care of him at all. "I made those dumplings, do you like them?"

It was a bit weird, because Namjoon was right. This side of him wasn't something he usually showed to anyone other than Namjoon and some select few people in glimpses. But what was he going to do, be scary mob boss with the traumatised kid? No. He looked at Namjoon and smiled, feeling better about this than when he'd first held a crying Jungkook. Definite improvement.

"I told him that you say Ryan is the best of friends, so he can be Jungkookie's friend too."

Jungkook held the glass with both hands and sipped very carefully, gulping down juice eagerly until it was nearly all gone. He hadn't eaten much all day, they gave him a candy bar and that was it. One of the girls managed to get him some water but mostly, after Cheon dumped him there, he'd just been prepared to be sold - that didn't include food and drink.

"Ryan loves making friends. He's good for secrets too. You can tell him everything and he'll tell no one. He just wants to cuddle and make it better."

Jungkook chewed another dumpling and looked at Ryan, content and at ease for the first time in what was a long few days. He liked Ryan. Maybe Ryan was allowed to play with big kids. He hoped Tae got to meet Ryan. "Thank you for letting me play with Ryan."

"No problem, kiddo. He's all yours."

Yoongi handed the almost empty glass to Namjoon wordlessly, knowing that he would agree with him that it definitely needed a refill. He'd rather deal with the kid peeing himself than risk him being dehydrated. Which reminded him, he should find out whether Jungkook could pee by himself. He ran his fingers through Jungkook's hair gently, watching him.

"So, we'll find you a toothbrush and then you can brush your teeth and lie down. Joon-ah and me will be right there... You just come over and wake me if you need anything, yeah? I don't need that much sleep, so it's fine."

He just wanted to reassure the kid as much as possible. And him and Namjoon would have to figure some stuff out, because he couldn't leave this child alone.

Jungkook was passed another glass of juice by Namjoon and he drank it eagerly. It tasted really nice! He liked juice but Eomma couldn't afford it. Usually she couldn't afford a lot but he was never complaining cause he was a really good boy. If he got really hungry, he just drank a lot of water. He gulped down the last of the juice and set it back down, licking his lips. "Okay. I sleep well, it's okay. I'll be quiet."

He didn't want to sleep alone. He only slept alone if he had his bunny, he kept him safe from the dark and how scary it was.

All he had to do was not get in the way, stay quiet and hopefully, not have an accident. He didn't want to get punished. He would be really, really good. Then he might get to stay here. The safe place. "Will you be there all night?"

"Of course, we sleep there. We don't go anywhere." Namjoon smiled a little and set the juice aside, figuring the boy had enough. For now.

"Yeah, we'll be right there. Gonna read a little, probably, so there will be light on." Actually, Yoongi suspected that he would have to do a lot of work after the stunt they had pulled here, but whatever. That would take its time too. "You know, when I can't sleep well, I wake up Namjoon and we cuddle."

Well, it was true. "So if you can't sleep well, you can come join us in bed and we can cuddle too. I like cuddling."

Yeah, there he was, Min Yoongi, talking about cuddling. At this rate they'd have to keep the kid just so he didn't blab to anyone about this. "So come cuddle me, if you wanna."

"He gives really good cuddles. The best." Namjoon bragged with such a big, wide dorky smile that Jungkook couldn't help but giggle a little. These two were funny and they smiled so big and so earnest. It wasn't like when Cheon smiled at him or the men at the auction, that fake smile all bad men had. They were funnier. Nicer. Safer.

"Okay, I like cuddles too..." Jungkook admitted sheepishly as he finished eating, turning around to cuddle up to Yoongi and close his eyes. "Mister, I'm really sleepy."

"You set up the bed, right?" Namjoon asked as he started to clean up the plates and dishes. "Should I set up anything else?"

"Just get yourself ready for bed. I need cuddles." Yoongi smirked and then got up, carrying Jungkook with him into the bathroom. He found a fresh toothbrush and helped him with brushing his teeth, then he looked at him with a slightly sheepish smile. "Jungkookie, do you need help with the toilet? I can help, no problem."

Somehow.

"I can pee by myself." Jungkook informed him proudly before he bit his lower lip, looking down. "But pants are hard so you can help me with those. You don't gotta, I can learn to do the button. I can do the zippy but the button is tricky." Pants were always tricky. Luckily, he didn't worry about it right now. He didn't have pants.

He did have a small issue though. The toilet was very high up and he was very small. He didn't think of this. Eomma had a step. "... I can't reach the toilet." He stood on his tip toes. Huh. "Can you help me up, mister?"

"We need to get you a step, huh?" Yoongi lifted him up and gathered his shirt up too, so he wouldn't accidentally pee on that. Then he turned away, but didn't leave, because he didn't want to miss his cue to help again. "I can help you wash your hands too." There, good hyung. Damn, being a good hyung was not easy.

"You are such a good boy though, you can do so much already. How old are you, Jungkookie?"

"I turned four two months ago." Jungkook informed Yoongi very proudly, he was a real big boy now. He wasn't a little baby any more. He could use the potty, he could eat by himself and brush his own teeth. Kind of. It was a messy attempt but he did it alone and that's all that mattered. He finished going and held his arms out. "I'm done, mister."

Once he was off, he let Yoongi help him to wash his hands, washing very carefully so Yoongi would praise him more. He liked being a good boy. "Eomma says I'm the man of the house so I gotta be a big boy. I take care of her." Still present tense, not past. He hadn't fully wrapped his head around it all.

"Then I get why your eomma is so proud of you." He carried Jungkook into the room and, in a spur of the moment decision, he laid down with him on his bed, adjusting both Jungkook and Ryan in his arms. Cuddles. Cuddles were needed. "You can always talk to your eomma and she can hear you, even if she can't be here any more. But you have me and Namjoon now, yeah? And we will take care of you and you will take care of us. We'll figure it all out together."

Somehow. Hey, could a kid be that much harder than leading the mob?

"Eomma stopped breathing. I hope she starts again soon. Then she can never, ever see Cheon again because he's a bad man." Jungkook held Ryan close and then nuzzled against Yoongi. He was so a good hyung, a good man - he was the opposite of most of the men that Jungkook got to know. He didn't like any of them but he thought Yoongi was different. It was his eyes, they were softer - kinder. "I bet you'd be nice to eomma. We could all live together and with Ryan too." That'd be nice. He imagined that would be very safe.

Namjoon came in and sat on the couch/bed, just watching the two with a smile, texting intermittently. He was handling business.

"Now we'll all live together with Namjoon, Ryan, you and me and eomma will watch over you, yeah?" He could explain death and all that to him better when he wasn't quite that fragile. For now he just held the little boy and kissed the top of his head. "Close your eyes now, yeah? You need a lot of sleep and tomorrow we'll figure everything out."

And there was a lot to figure out, but most of those things he hoped he wouldn't need to actually bother Jungkook with.

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jungkool - 2019-01-18 12:31 (UTC) - Expand