Pretty Puppy (BTS x Taehyung)

18

Taehyung's eyes lit up in amazement. He'd never met another hybrid; not before he was rescued nor in the sanctuary. He'd never met anyone like himself. The poor puppy hybrid couldn't remember ever meeting his mother -not that anyone could blame him, the lavender-scented, Samoyed hybrid had died in the weeks following his birth.

He'd thought that Jimin was like Yoongi and Namjoon, human-looking but with the ability to turn into wolves.

Taehyung stared at the blonde, his brain finally catching up on what the man had said. Jimin is a hybrid, a wolf hybrid. The blonde reached up and removed the read beanie from his head exposing two large, triangular-shaped cupped ears. They twitched as Jimin ran his hand through his messy yellow locks. Taehyung watched in awe as the blonde lifted his sweater a little to untuck his long bushy tail.

"I didn't want to sit on it while we were playing so I tucked it in."

The puppy couldn't stop himself from reaching a hand towards Jimin's head with the intent to pet the man's ears. Taehyung's small hand stopped in front of the boy's face and he made eye contact with the other hybrid. With the soft nod of Jimin's head and the fellow hybrid's smile, Taehyung finally reached the blonde's fawn-coloured ears.

They were soft and warm just like his own; only a little less fluffy. They fluttered when Taehyung reached the base of his ears, where the soft fur connected with Jimin's scalp and blonde locks replaced the fluff. His tail wagged as he smiled at the wolf hybrid in front of him.

"Like me."

Taehyung whispered, it was incredibly hoarse and his voice shook and cracked slightly. It was the first time he'd spoken to anyone for months.

When the chaos of his rescue had died down and the police had left him in the sanctuary's care, Taehyung had started therapy. At first, the aim was to delve into the hybrid's past; the full extent of his abuse and neglect, his mother's death and father's tyranny; in order to help him recover. Though this proved difficult when the boy wouldn't talk to anyone, he couldn't.

Eventually he'd been diagnosed with Selective Mutism, characterised by his inability to speak to specific people or in specific conditions. For the most part, he communicated by facial expressions and gestures though it took weeks to coax him into that. It took months for the hybrid to begin to trust anyone enough to utter words to them; including Hyunjin.

Taehyung had never been big on talking before being rescued. He had never been in an environment that he felt comfortable to speak. When his father was around it was better to be silent so he didn't draw attention to himself and when the tormentor left, there was nobody for him to speak to anyway.

So when he was taken away from that toxic place and given proper love and care he found it hard to adjust. The stress he felt, the pressure to speak created an anxiety around speaking in general. He went from being a quiet boy to a silent one.

It was in the third month at the sanctuary that the hybrid had spoken his first words. Hyunjin has taken him to an ice cream parlour late at night with the human's younger brother, Minjae. Their visit was part of his therapy and introduction to the world around him, slightly scary yet so exciting.

Late at night, just before closing, the parlour was desolate. It was perfect for the puppy with a strong sense of smell; all lingering scents were soft, subtle and wouldn't pose an issue. The human had brought his brother along as Taehyung had become quite attached to the soft-spoken, bubbly little boy.

The puppy had been allowed to stand at the counter for what felt like an hour choosing the flavours he'd like to smell and try. Immediately dismissing harsher scented ice creams like coffee and nut flavours, he instead decided to taste the softer ones; cookie dough, mint chocolate chip, orange and of course strawberry.

It was on the way home when the younger human boy had fallen asleep in the back of the car, head resting on the hybrid's shoulder that Taehyung had spoken quietly. He uttered a faint "thank you" when he knew the human driver was listening. His words carrying so much more than gratitude for the ice cream, his scratchy unused voice carried acknowledgement of all that Hyunjin had done to help the hybrid.

Taehyung spent no time acknowledging his actions; far more occupied petting Jimin's warm ears and smiling. He hadn't consciously spoken, the words spilling from his mouth before he realised what he'd done. Even when he had noticed his impromptu babble, he didn't feel the need to address it. It didn't seem like a big deal, to speak, he felt comfortable and it just happened. But to the creatures around him, it meant the world.

Not only was it extremely endearing to watch the young hybrid gently touch one of their youngest's ears so sweetly, a happy aura around him and a bright smile on his face. But to hear him speak, so softly, for the first time, to be blessed with the ability to hear his voice -it was a wonderful feeling. His voice was the kind some may have after a really long, deep sleep -throaty, thick and whisper-like; a sound they enjoyed hearing.

It meant more to them to know not that the hybrid was comfortable enough to speak, to utter those few words. It gave them hope for the future, this was going to be ok -Taehyung was going to be okay, there with them.

Hoseok was nearly brought to tears, the utter happiness and joy the others felt around him was moving -so much so that the empath struggled to prevent the wet droplets from escaping his eyes. Of course, Hoseok ever the sentimental being was equally as elated that Taehyung had spoken. It brought him one step closer to his plan to show Taehyung the world, all the things he'd missed out on.

The vampire's two hyungs were more collected, Yoongi's sweet gummy smile making an appearance and Seokjin's proud 'fatherly' gaze as he watched his youngest nestlings interact in such a domestic way. Both of them were happy, content. Their house finally felt like a home, Seokjin's nest finally complete after thousands of years waiting.

Jimin on the other had barely contained his squeal, his hands reaching out to cup the youngster's soft rosey cheeks and ruffle his pink locks and snow-white ears. Who could blame him, the younger hybrid was adorable and the heartwarming giggle he let out after Jimin had poked his nose softly completely melted those around him.

Jungkook muttered a small "cute" while watching Jimin play with the pup. He looked up to his hyungs making sure they had the same view as him, he didn't want them to miss out on the pup's cute antics. He was still in awe that something so precious could be so adorable, overwhelmed by the strong urge to protect the hybrid. But seeing Taehyung so happy and smiley brought on a smile of his own.

The new youngest had stolen all their hearts and they were completely willing to let him.

"You're so cute, I want to squish you!"

Jimin laughed as he smooshed Taehyung's face softly, light airy giggles filling his ears. The wolf reached down and pulled the blanket up from the puppy's shoulders to over his head, watching as the youngster tumbled into Jungkook's side while laughing.

"Okay loves, let's go fill those hungry bellies of yours."

Jimin and Jungkook's head snapped up at the mention of food; Taehyung followed suit with a staggered response, not having processed what was said but instantly copying the other two.

"I'm sure Namjoon's wondering what we've gotten up to as well."

So, with a blanket draped on his shoulders and hands held comfortably by Yoongi and Jimin, Taehyung is led back to the kitchen, a warm smile on his face as his tail wagged in time with his fellow hybrid's.

~ we are all broken, that's how the light gets in -ernest hemingway~