VHope Fluffshots

Experiments: The Aftermath

"Joonie!" Hoseok nearly yelled as he quickly stood, moving as fast as he could with the IV pole to hug the life out of the koala hybrid. "Hey, Hobi. I missed you too," Namjoon chuckled, wiping away Hoseok's tears before he hugged Jimin and Jungkook, who refused to let go until Yoongi started to whine. 

"Hyungie!" the little five-year-old cheered as Hoseok picked him up, kissing his chubby cheek as he held him on his hip. The other little hybrid Hoseok had never seen before simply held tighter to the hem of Namjoon's shirt. 

"So... we escaped," Jimin muttered, plopping down on Hoseok's hospital bed. The older boy nodded, wincing and removing Yoongi's hands when the little boy touched one of his ears. Because of the treatments he was going through - his animal DNA being replaced with human DNA - his animal parts were starting to rot off. 

"I can see that, but how?" he asked, sitting back down in his chair. "There was an uproar in the predator area. The watchers couldn't contain them and, once word got out, our area and Jimin's area began to riot, too. The building caught fire in the process. We managed to get out," Namjoon sighed, allowing the boy to bury his face in his side. 

Hoseok was silent for a while, licking his lips as he nervously asked, "Did Hoshi-hyung get out? And Junhae? Johnny? Chanyeol?" Jungkook shrugged and sat himself down on Jimin's lap. "Johnny brought us here." 

Tears welled up in Hoseok's eyes as his face paled, understanding that only Johnny had survived; the one that raised him was dead, along with the ones that made him feel safe in dangerous situations. 

Yoongi buried his face in Hoseok's neck, hugging him tight to make him feel at least a tiny bit better. Namjoon sighed and ruffled the mourning boy's hair, careful to not touch his ears. "They helped us get out. They wanted you to know that they loved you very much and were so glad that you were safe. Chanyeol wanted to apologize for taking you from your family." 

They were silent for a while after that. 

"Oh," Namjoon suddenly said, pulling the unknown hybrid to stand right in front of him, "This is my new arrival, Seokjin. But you can call him Jin." 

Hoseok smiled at the sugar-glider hybrid, absentmindedly petting Yoongi's ears. Jin smiled back, leaning into his hyung. "I'm six. Joonie-hyung told me a lot about you," he mumbled, leaning back more into Namjoon; it was easy to understand that the older hybrid was his comfort object. 

The older boy blushed, Namjoon sending him a brief smile. "Then you know about Taehyung, right?" Hoseok asked, earning a nod. "I do. Will I ever get to meet him?" Jin asked hopefully, glancing at Namjoon every few seconds. Hoseok hummed. "Maybe one day."

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Taehyung was curled up on the soft, king-sized mattress keepers had put in his cage when Hoseok stepped in, towing his IV pole. 

The tiger had two IVs, mainly because he had more hormones and DNA to flush out and replace. 

"TaeTae," the older boy cooed, shivering a little as he stepped into the cage. Taehyung picked up his head, chuffing softly for his love, who laid himself down on the bed, snuggling into the soft, warm fur. He smiled as the younger sniffed him, whining softly at Yoongi's scent. 

"I need to tell you something," Hoseok said grimly, looking deep into those big, now human eyes. "They're dead, Taehyung. Seungkwan, Wonwoo, Jeonghan, Junhae, Seungch... cheol, H... Hoshi... Chanyeol." He started to cry, reaching up to hug the tiger's neck and bury his face in the fur there. 

The younger started to purr, comforting both Hoseok and himself, as they mourned together. He rested his head on his love's shoulder, wanting nothing more than to lick his little red ears, but he understood that it would only hurt him now.