SAFE HAVEN, yoonkook

ten.

Yoongi sighed as he looked down at another untouched meal, turning his gaze to the boy who was playing with his wings. Jungkook seemed to be preening them, running his fingers down them to make them smooth and neath. The older male could see the bones in his wrist, he realised; now he wasn't sure if they'd always been there or not.

"You don't want to eat anything?" Yoongi asked as he walked over to the brunette, who simply paused in his preening and stared at the older male. Jungkook stared at him for a few seconds before blinking and returning back to brushing his feathers. "I can make something else if you want."

Silence. This was something that had become a common thing between them ー Jungkook frequently ignored the older male and chose not to acknowledge the questions or comments directed at him.

"I'm going to go now then; I'll be home later."

Jungkook moved onto his other wing.

"Kookie isn't eating." Yoongi confided in Hoseok over lunch, the act of eating reminding him of this. "I think I did something wrong... He was fine until a little bit ago."

"Maybe he doesn't like your food ー I wouldn't blame him."

"I brought home takeaway; he still didn't eat it."

"Then I don't know what's wrong then." Hoseok picked up a chip, dipping it in the tomato sauce. He waved it in the air as he continued speaking, "Do you know if he's got one of those things yet?"

"One of those what?"

"I dunno; he acts younger than what he actually is: is he one of those people?" Yoongi's expression remained blank, not understanding what was happening. "You know, the people that act like little kids ー it's a kink or something."

"No, it's nothing sexual... I don't think. I think it's just 'cause of the trauma or something."

Hoseok's eyes widened, "Trauma?"

"Yeah, his uncle... He lived with him for most of his life; he wasn't a nice man."

"Is Namjoon the uncle?"

The older male was quiet for a moment, using the chips in his mouth as an excuse not to speak. He tried to come up with a lie to defend his friend before he spoke, "No... Namjoon is another uncle. He took Kookie in after it was found out the condition the boy was being raised but because of his work he couldn't look after him properly ー so he asked if I could look after him for a bit."

"Oh... Okay. Well, if it is the trauma then you've got to get Jungkook to trust you." Hoseok responded after a moments thought. "He's probably not eating because he doesn't trust you. You've gotta make him believe that you and the house he's in is a home ー a safe haven."

"How do I do that?"

"I dunno, prove you're not going anywhere and that you don't want to harm him."

This set Yoongi off thinking, wondering how he could prove this to Jungkook. He figured he would probably have to do some googling.

ー

"Kookie, I'm home." Yoongi called out as he walked through the door, Hoseok close behind. "Hoseok is here too; he's got dinner."

There was, unsurprisingly, no response. The sounds of people shouting at each other could be heard, which told Yoongi that the boy was doing what he always did: watching some drama. They entered the room and this was confirmed.