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Yoongi knew something was up the moment Seokjin walked through the front door. The guy was bundled up tightly, scarf wrapped around his head, and hands shoved deep into his coat pockets.
Something was off. Yoongi sat up straighter from his position on the couch. "What did you do?" Yoongi asked, eyes steelier than usual.
Seokjin paused in kicking off his shoes at the doorway, and tilted his head at Yoongi. "Hm? What?"
“You look suspicious,” Yoongi remarked when Seokjin resumed removing his shoes. Seokjin smiled as he walked over and draped himself over the back of the couch to pat Yoongi’s shoulder.
“I just went to the library and then grabbed some coffee,” Seokjin said. “I’ll be in my room if you need anything.”
Yoongi started to speak but instead of words a sneeze came out. “Ugh. Yeah, whatever.”
“Are you catching a cold?” Seokjin placed the back of his hand on Yoongi’s forehead only for him to push it away.
“Aye, hyung, I’m fine,” he sniffled. “Probably just dust.”
Seokjin announced it was Yoongi’s turn to sweep before he hurried off to his room and locked the door. His back against the door, he sighed shakily, hand on his chest. “That was a close one.”
He sat on his bed and slowly unraveled his scarf, and cupped the small, black ball of fur that fell from it. “Hey there. You awake?”
The baby bunny twitched his nose, ears perking up at Seokjin’s voice. Seokjin ran his thumb along the bunny’s ears, and thought about what he could put him in until he he had enough time to buy a proper cage. He’d have to bring the stuff in when he knew Yoongi wouldn’t be home.
Seokjin knew you weren’t supposed to pick up a baby rabbit if you thought it was abandoned. Most likely it wasn’t and its mother and nest weren’t too far away. But Seokjin had to rescue him! The poor thing had snuck into the library--probably as someone was going in-- and Seokjin found him cowering in a corner behind the nutrition books. Originally Seokjin was going to place it somewhere outside, but the rabbit immediately hopped back to Seokjin when he tried to place him by a bush. The rabbit climbed onto Seokjin’s shoes and rubbed his head on his ankles.
It was also cold outside and the rabbit might freeze to death. Seokjin couldn’t imagine where the rabbit nest would be, and he didn’t want to try to find it. He had to take the rabbit home even though the apartments had a strict “No Pets” rule, and Yoongi was kind of allergic to rabbits. Seokjin would just have to clean more thoroughly and make sure the rabbit stayed away from Yoongi’s stuff.
Seokjin sat on his bed with a cute rabbit who was more animated than other rabbits he had met. The pet’s eyes were wide and a warm, dark brown that looked at Seokjin like he was his mother.
“Well, since I’ll be taking care of you, I guess you need a name, huh?” Seokjin said, continuing to stroke the rabbit’s ears. “Let’s see...Midnight?”
The rabbit immediately flattened his ears. “Okay, too cliche. Mm, you’re cute like one of my freshmen, Jimin. What if I gave you his name? Or Namjoon’s! He’s this person I--ah, that’d be too confusing. What do people name their rabbits?”
The animal merely snuggled on Seokjin’s lap and flattened his ears every time Seokjin suggested a name. (“Seagull? Bun Bun? Bap?”) Seokjin was ready to give up when another idea came to mind. “You know what? When I found you I was reading a book by someone called Jungkook. How about that name? And I’ll call you Kookie for short.”
Seokjin laughed when the bunny straightened out his ears and wrinkled his nose. If he could talk, Seokjin was sure he’d say, “ You finally thought of something good! ”
Instead Kookie nuzzled his head against Seokjin’s stomach, purring.
x x x
Kookie was not a typical rabbit.
For one thing, he was eerily responsive to Seokjin. The man could talk for hours about anything and Kookie would react as if he somewhat understood what Seokjin was rambling about. Kookie was also fast for his size and would often dash out of Seokjin’s room when the door opened. He would later be found rolling all over Yoongi’s stuff, and Seokjin would have to quickly de-rabbit-ify everything before Yoongi got to it. So far the allergy thing wasn’t a huge problem, but once in awhile Yoongi would question why his allergies were acting up more than usual. Seokjin hated keeping Kookie a secret, but he couldn’t risk having to give his pet up. Seokjin might be a little overly attached. One thing was for sure and that was Kookie had definitely imprinted on him.
“I gotta go,” Seokjin said as he placed Kookie inside his cage. “Hoseok’s dance performance is starting soon and I should’ve left 15 minutes ago!” As Seokjin locked the cage, Kookie slipped his front two paws between the bars, ears drooped sadly. Seokjin continued to get ready and texted Jimin to save him a seat. He had slipped on his scarf and coat when a loud squeak shot out from the cage.
Seokjin got on his knees, fearing that the bunny had somehow hurt himself. Kookie’s ears were still down, his paws gripping the cage bars. Seokjin’s heart tightened and he felt like the worst pet owner in existence. Have you ever seen a rabbit that looked like it was going to cry at any moment?
Kookie’s shiny eyes gazed up at Seokjin and he squeaked again.
x x x
If anyone at the dance noticed a pair of rabbit ears sticking up from Seokjin’s scarf, they didn’t say anything. If Hoseok noticed that something was sniffing him when he pulled Seokjin into a hug, he certainly didn’t say anything.
x x x
When Seokjin first brought Kookie to the apartment, he was somewhat afraid that turning the outdoor creature into an indoor pet would be a terrible idea. But Kookie has turned out fine, growing into a happy, chubby rabbit.
As Seokjin laid in bed, Kookie napped beside his head on the pillow. Kookie didn’t like sleeping in his cage very much, so Seokjin let him sleep on the bed if there wasn’t any concern about Yoongi barging in.
Seokjin reached up and stroked Kookie’s head. “Namjoon invited me and Yoongi to a party tomorrow. You’ll have to stay here this time,” he said. Kookie’s body wiggled, eyes opening slightly. Seokjin smiled sheepishly and placed Kookie on his chest. “Yoongi thinks I should stop being a hopeless wuss and ask Namjoon out already.”
Kookie’s ears started to point downward and Seokjin chuckled, brushing Kookie’s tail. “You don’t like him? Ah, Namjoon’s a really great person. Maybe one day you’ll meet him.” Kookie burrowed his head into Seokjin’s sweater, opting to return back to his nap. Seokjin scooted him up far enough that he could place a light kiss between his ears. Kookie’s entire body went laxed and Seokjin felt a very odd need to scream at how cute Kookie looked. (Maybe he was hanging out with Hoseok too much.)
“But I will always still love you,” Seokjin said, just as Kookie began snoring quietly.
x x x
There were two things that annoyed Seokjin when he woke up.
One was he forgot to close his curtains last night, so the bright sunlight woke him up earlier than he wanted to. Two, Kookie’s fur was all up in his mouth and nose, and Seokjin sputtered, trying to move him way. Instead of grabbing a small animal, Seokjin’s hand touched a human body.
When he opened his eyes, the last thing he expected to see was a naked guy cuddled up close to his chest. Seokjin closed his eyes, breathed out calmly, and ---
“ What the f---who the hell are you?”
Seokjin tried to back away but he was already pressed up against the wall. He started to push the stranger away, but then their nose twitched. Like Kookie’s. (Don’t ask how Seokjin could tell a rabbit’s nose twitch from anything else. He just could.)
The boy briefly opened his eyes, smiling softly before closing them again. He pressed closer to Seokjin’s body.
“Eomma,” Kookie whined, “you’re being too noisy.”
Seokjin wanted to scream.
x x x
After a near heart attack and then locating clothes for Kookie to wear, the boy now sat on Seokjin’s bed with a plate of breakfast. He shoveled down a plate of carrot omelettes and a large cup of milk tea, while Seokjin sat at his desk, watching intently.
“So, you’re my rabbit,” Seokjin said after a long silence, “and you, um, can change into a human?”
Kookie finished off his food and wiped the milk mustache off his face. “I guess so.”
“This doesn’t make sense,” Seokjin groaned, hanging his head. He yelped when Kookie hopped from the bed--still not completely sturdy on his legs--and onto his lap. Kookie wrapped his arms around Seokjin and buried his face in his chest. An elated feeling clouded Seokjin’s head, the same emotion he got whenever he’d come home to see Kookie excited for his return. His arms went around the boy and he pulled him closer.
This was still Kookie.
“You’re not going to get rid of me, are you?” Kookie’s voice was muffled by Seokjin’s shirt, but he could still hear the uncertainty and fear in it.
Seokjin sighed and rubbed his nose in Kookie’s hair.
“Never.”
Seokjin still had a thousand questions and was still confused about how Kookie could change from a rabbit into a human. (Later he would learn that Kookie could switch back and forth as he pleased if he tried hard enough.) He’d have to explain to Yoongi their new roommate and hoped Yoongi wouldn’t think he was crazy. Seokjin would also need to plan what all he needed to do to care for a teenage boy he technically had guardianship over.
But Seokjin was smart. He’d figure it all out.