"Yah, get up. We have things to do today."
You groan as the gravelly voice slowly pulls you from your deep sleep and try to cover your face with the blanket. You couldn't even remember waking up once during the night and wanted to get back to it. Having such a good nights sleep was a rare phenomenon. You couldn't recall why it happened but you hoped it would again. You bury your face deeper into your pillow and allow yourself to drift back to sleep.
"You're still not up? Fine."
The comforter that had felt as comfy as a cloud a few moments ago was ripped from your body, the sudden rush of cool air bringing you to full awareness. You whine and crack open your eyelids, coming face to face with the smirking hybrid looming above you.
"Good afternoon. It's almost one. I made you food so come eat it." Yoongi orders with an amused grin, waltzing back out of the room with his tail flicking cheekily behind him.
You wipe the sleep from your eyes and sit up with a moan, cracking your neck a bit as everything comes back to you.
You were now a hybrid owner. Or something like that.
You honestly had no idea how this was done, which is partially why you'd never gotten a hybrid for yourself. You've seen your brother and his hybrid interact, true, but you didn't know much about the day to day stuff. You weren't sure how much you were supposed to treat them like their animal counterparts versus the human side.
And that was especially a problem for you right now, because sleeping with Yoongi cuddled in next to you had definitely not given you the same feeling as if you'd been cuddling an actual cat. Instead, you'd been very aware that there was an amazing smelling man wrapped around you, nevermind the quiet purring or the tail that had wound itself around your legs.
You sigh and pick up a hair tie from your nightstand and put your hair up as you walk towards the kitchen. On the table were two omelets, along with a glass of milk for Yoongi and your usual lemon and ginger tea. The food actually smelled pretty good, although there was a touch of a fishy scent that worried you.
The two of you sat down and you began sipping your tea as Yoongi tore into his omelet, finally revealing the source of the fish odor as he did so.
"You put tuna in the omelets?"
"Just in mine. Yours has cheddar and spinach. This one is good though...here." Yoongi grunts as he shoves a bite of his tuna monstrosity towards your mouth.
Not wanting to upset him, you open up and allow him to feed it to you. He watches intently as you chew, smirk growing as he observes your trepidation turn into surprise.
"Not bad, right?"
"It's not awful, no."
Yoongi snorts in amusement then gestures towards your own food.
"Eat up and get ready. You have things you need to get me today."
You pause with your fork halfway to your mouth to stare at him curiously.
"I do?"
"Duh. I'm living here now, so I'm going to need my own things. Don't worry, I have a little money. There are just certain things that hybrids can't buy on their own."
"Oh, well alright then, I guess. It's my day off, so I don't have any other plans."
Yoongi raised a single eyebrow as if to indicate he was already aware before digging back into his food. You shrug and follow suit, pleased that it seemed like Yoongi was a decent cook. It was hard to mess up an omelet, honestly, but it was still really well done. The eggs were fluffy and the filling was a good ratio of cheese to spinach, and you were almost certain he'd even added a dash of red pepper flakes.
"This is really good, Yoongi. Thank you."
He merely nodded at the compliment, but you swore that you caught a flash of pink on his cheeks.
The rest of the meal was finished in silence, followed by the two of you getting ready to go...somewhere. You figured he'd tell you once you got in the car so you'd at least know where you were driving to. As you gathered your things to leave, you couldn't help but notice the threadbare outfit he was wearing as he met you by the door. It was one you'd noticed numerous times before, as you recognized the black and red t-shirt that you remembered had a hole near the armpit. You hoped clothes was one of the things he'd let you get today.
Yoongi follows behind as you head towards your car then slides into the passenger seat and buckles up without any prompting. He grabs your phone when you set it down and puts directions onto it.
"That's where we need to go. It's like a Costco for hybrid goods."
You nod and pull out, letting Yoongi put on the music app before setting it back to the GPS for you.
"If it's like a Costco does that mean we need a membership?"
"Yup. Only humans can apply for it, although I'll get a card too."
"So what all do we need? Like, clothes, food, I dunno...litterbox?"
Yoongi quietly growled as he stared at you incredulously. Even his ears and tail looked offended, flickering at you with agitation.
"Try and make me use a litterbox. I dare you."
"I said I didn't know!"
He scoffed and settled into his seat in silence, and it remained that way for the rest of the thirty-minute drive to get to the store. He didn't appear too angry, more like annoyed, which was understandable.
As you pulled into the parking lot, you were surprised by the sheer massiveness of the place. The greeter at the door was a friendly Lab hybrid that directed you to the membership counter, where you obtained a couple of cards after paying a membership fee and taking a couple of pictures. You supposed it would be worth it if Yoongi was really staying and you'd be needing to keep him supplied with...whatever you were here for.
You pushed the cart along, studying the products with wonder. You had no idea hybrids had so many different things. The cart soon became filled with soaps and shampoos, toothpaste, brushes, the fluffiest towels you'd ever felt, fifteen bath bombs, and at least five blankets because apparently Yoongi didn't skimp on his comfort items. The clothes that the two of you picked through were some of the softest fabrics you'd ever felt, and the pants all had holes of different sizes for tails to fit through. You'd even gotten a couple sweaters for yourself because you'd loved the plush feel of them so much.
The food area was really impressive and had lots of hybrid friendly meals ready to go, as well as a fish section that had Yoongi enthralled. The roasted chicken samples seemed to make him just as happy. You came out of the food section with more food than you'd ever bought at once before. You should probably explain to Yoongi at some point that you can make a pretty swell can of soup and that's the extent of your cooking ability.
After nearly an hour and a half of wandering the store, Yoongi had you stop in front of a wall of collars. You were surprised, as you hadn't pegged him for the type to want a collar, and it must have shown on your face because he snorted at your expression.
"It's the law. All hybrids have to wear a collar outdoors. I only got away with it when we were coming in here because we're obviously new. Stupid law, but whatever."
Yoongi inspected a few collars before settling on a black one with a thin band. The material looked soft enough and when he tried it on, it looked amazing. In the completely non-pet way that you couldn't give voice to.
He threw it into the cart and went right back to looking at the collars again, to your confusion. How many collars does one hybrid need?
After throwing an entirely too mischievous glance at you over his shoulder, he grabs one that looks more like a black lace choker than an animal collar. Your brain starts to malfunction trying to picture Yoongi in lace and that's when he strikes, wrapping the collar around your neck with a smug grin.
"What? I don't need a collar," you squeak, reaching up to touch the lace with your fingers.
He shrugs, staring at the collar with both a blush and an annoying smirk.
"If I have to wear one, only fair if you do too."
"That's bullshit. I'm not walking around in a collar."
"So wear it around the house. Seems fair enough. I have to wear one outside, you have to wear it inside."
It did sound fair, but you knew it was also him just being a little shit. Whatever, you probably looked hot. Silly hybrid can't make a fool of you.
"Just say you're kinky and call it a day," you laugh as you take it off and throw it into the cart. He grumbles and turns to the tag machine.
After a few moments, he throws a couple of small gold tags towards you to inspect. One is simple; Yoongi's name, your phone number, and address. The other...
"Who the hell is Ginger?"
Yoongi's eyes light up like he thinks he's finally won whatever silly game he's been playing.
"Oh, that's your kitten name. You have a collar, might as well have some stupid cat name to go with it."
"Yoongi isn't a cat name. Why doesn't yours say Mr. Fluffington or something?"
"If you ever call me that I will shred every piece of clothing you own."
You chuckle at Yoongi's disgusted sneer, his button nose crinkling adorably.
"Well, at least tell me why Ginger."
Yoongi shrugged and grabbed the cart, pushing it towards the checkout.
"You always smell like that lemon and ginger tea you drink."
Huh. He'd sounded almost fond of you just then.
You were humming to yourself as you waited in line when Yoongi suddenly shoves a huge wad of cash right in your face.
"What's this?"
Yoongi quirks an eyebrow. "I believe humans call it money."
"I'm aware, smartass. I mean why are you shoving money in my face?"
"I have a decent amount of money from busking. I just couldn't spend it on much because of the stupid laws. Just stuff from the convenience store or whatever. If you want to throw up a fuss and pay for everything because you're the "owner," then you can do that another time. This is a lot of shit, so just take it."
You sigh and accept the money, which is easily almost three hundred dollars. The fact that he had this much money and couldn't even spend it on his own was ridiculous and broke your heart. Yoongi was obviously independently natured, and having to deal with that on a daily basis no doubt hurt his pride. At least now he could say all of his new things were purchased with his own money.
You sent Yoongi off to go buy the two of you a couple of drinks from the cafe for the road. You pulled the item you'd been hiding from the bottom of the cart and handed it to the cashier, asking her to ring it separately. You'd just barely managed to get it bagged and rehidden before Yoongi came back.
After checkout, the two of you rush home to get the perishables safely put away. As you stock the fridge, you wave Yoongi away, telling him to set up the rest of his things. The couch now sports two new fluffy blankets and a little pillow you hadn't noticed before. His clothes now have a spot in your closet and his towels and bath products are next to yours in the bathroom. You hadn't realized how empty the place had seemed before, but the evidence of another person living here was comforting.
While Yoongi was in the bedroom organizing his clothes, you took the chance to pull out the bag you'd been hiding among the groceries, unwrapping it and setting it next to Yoongi's pillow and blanket on the couch. You quickly run back to the kitchen and go back to putting things away.
A few moments later and you were finishing up in the kitchen as Yoongi wanders back in the living room with a few books and magazines about hybrids that he'd insisted on you reading "so I don't have to explain every damn thing." He stopped short as the front of the couch came into view.
"What the hell is this?"
"Hmm? What's up?" you hum as you slowly strut into the room. You try for nonchalance, but you know that the smile you can't hold back gives you away.
Yoongi is sitting on the couch clutching the black cat plushie you hadn't been able to resist buying. Beyond the fact that the toy had a little button nose that resembled a certain cat you knew, it was also meant for calming. It had a little opening in the back to keep pouches of dried chamomile. Something told you that Yoongi hadn't had many calming situations in his life, and though this was barely much of anything, you hoped it would help ease his way into being happy here with you.
"You like him?" you ask, settling in next to him as Yoongi stares at you in wide-eyed wonder.
"I...yeah. It's a little lame, but uh...thanks," Yoongi stutters, taking an audible sniff of the plushie before he sets it in his lap.
"You're welcome."
"And..." Yoongi continues, his cheeks going pink as he fiddles around with the toy. "Thank you for not kicking me out on my ass. You should have."
"You are more than welcome here, Yoongi. I may not be the best or smartest person to take care of a hybrid, but at least I'm not willing to let one sleep out in the cold if I can help it."
Yoongi scoffs, and the haunted look in his eyes makes you want to cry. "That already makes you better than most humans."
You reach over and grasp one of his hands, half expecting him to smack you away. You're pleasantly surprised when he lets you and squeezes it back.
"Right," he clears his throat and stands up. "Do your homework. I'll throw something together for dinner. Salmon okay?"
"Yeah, sounds great. Thanks, Yoongi," You grin and grab one of the hybrid books to read while he cooks.
Yoongi takes a step then hesitates, throwing you a quick look before grabbing the cat plush and taking it with him to the kitchen. You hide your smile behind the book. You two are going to be okay.