Yoongi groaned as the theme for The X-Files ― an alarm choice he'd made practically falling asleep ― forced him into wakefulness. He hit the snooze button on his phone, making a mental note to choose a better song for his alarm this evening; this current one was only waking him up because he was worried aliens might be in his bedroom. Sitting at the edge of his bed, he contemplated whether he should actually get up and start getting ready for the day yet. Currently he was just sitting there, mentally getting a few more minutes of sleep. He'd been up most of the previous night, struggling to get most of his work done. He'd failed, sadly, and would have to go in early to get the last of it finished.

Slowly the tired male pushed himself out of bed and made his way to the shower, stripping from the few articles of clothing he was wearing along the way. A small trail of pyjamas was left from the bottom of his bed to the outside of the bathroom, undoubtedly going to remain there until a weekend when Yoongi had enough free time to actually take in the state of his home. As he showered himself, Yoongi felt himself falling asleep again as the warm water enveloped him. He pressed his head against the shower wall, letting the water drip down his back as he caught a few more seconds of sleep. Something then went wrong with the water ― an issue he still hadn't spoken to someone about ― and all cold water disappeared, scalding his back. By the time he'd gotten the water back under control, he was properly awake and his body was tingling from the abuse it was just put through.

Breakfast consisted of a few mouthfuls of a boiling coffee on his way out the door, which was soon forgotten beside yesterday's one and he drove off to work ― a laboratory on the opposite end of the city. There were a few moments where the lack of sleep seemed like it was going to make him fall asleep at the wheel, but he kept the window down so that cold morning air was continuously pushed onto his face and his CD player blasted some heavy metal CD he was given as a present a few birthdays ago.

Occasionally the male found himself getting too into the music he claimed he abhorred, banging his head to the music or pretending to play drums along with the real drummer. His gaze would generally then travel to the car beside him, where the other person would be staring at him in confusion. This time it was a middle-aged woman with her child in the passenger seat; the child, at least, seemed amused by the display, although the mother probably didn't appreciate her son listening to the song that was playing.

By the time Yoongi arrived at his work, he was thoroughly awake and ready ― well, as ready as one could be for a long day of tedious work ― for work.

The front desk secretary, Jung Hoseok, had beat Yoongi to work that morning. He was already there, tapping away at his computer when the older male sauntered into the laboratory. Hoseok glanced up when he heard the automated doors slide open and smiled at the sight of his friend. The tapping of a keyboard was soon replaced by the clacking of two pairs of shoes on the clean floor.

"Yoongi! You're here early." Hoseok noted as he followed the scientist off into his area of the workplace. Yoongi shrugged, rubbing his eyes slowly. "I thought after how late you left last night you'd come in later this morning."

"I didn't get everything done last night. I have to finish it now."

"Alright, well, have fun with that. I've got some appointments and things to type up, so I'll leave you with that." Hoseok went to leave, before pausing at the door as a thought came to him. He turned around slowly, swinging on the door handle. "Oh, you got a call a few minutes ago. The guy left a message but it's just that he wants you to call him back ― on your mobile, not the work phone."

"Who was it?" The secretary shrugged.

"Kim Namjoon. Do you know him?" The long sigh that came from the older male was answer enough, as he rubbed his eyes again.

"Yeah, he's a friend. I'll call him later, I've got work to do now." Hoseok nodded before leaving the older to start his work. Yoongi stared at his computer screen as it loaded, wondering what Namjoon could possibly want.

Yoongi wouldn't have left for lunch but Hoseok had forced him, literally pulling him from his chair and dragging him out of the building in front of all his co-workers. They went down to a burger place that was nearby ― one of Hoseok's favourite places. They'd been there that often that the waiters only had to say 'the usual?' and their orders would be placed. The place was quiet that day, so their lunch was quickly brought to them. They dug in, eating in silence as they focussed on filling their bellies.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" Hoseok asked after they'd both eaten their fill. Both were hesitant to get up, neither wanting to go back to work. The older shrugged, folding the napkin on his plate.

"Calling Namjoon, finding out what he wants, and then sleeping."

"That sounds like a good plan. I was thinking of seeing a movie tonight though..."

"Are you asking if I want to come?" Hoseok nodded. "Well, if whatever Namjoon wants doesn't take too long, I'll come. What time?"

"I think that horror one has a screening at six-ten. Want to see that?"

"Sure, I don't mind. Are you sure you'll be able to handle it though?" Yoongi smiled as he teased his friend.

"I'll have your hand to hold then I'm sure I'll be fine."

"What makes you think I want to hold your clammy hand? It's like holding a zombie's hand ― holding your hand would probably scare me more than the movie."

"Yeah, well... Anyway, meet you at the cinema at six?"

"If everything goes to plan, sure." The pair got up, walking over to pay for their meals. They took their time walking back, not in any rush to return to work.

―

"Namjoon?" Yoongi asked when the other end picked up. He could hear yells in the background, making him already grow worried about what sort of mess his old friend had gotten himself into.

"Yoongi! I was beginning to think you weren't going to call me back." There was more shouting ― Yoongi could recognise Namjoon's assistant's voice as he practically screamed abuse at whatever was causing the ruckus. "Look, a problem's come up―"

"Just for something new." Yoongi interrupted, a small smile on his lips. "When are you going to call me up for a friendly meet-up? It's always because you've got yourself in some trouble you can't get out of."

"Okay, I promise the next time I call won't be because of some big problem. But I really need your help; I can't trust anyone else with this."

The older male sighed. "Alright, what is it?"

"I need you to take care of one of the creatures."

When Yoongi walked hesitantly through Namjoon's small research centre, he began to wonder what he'd gotten himself into. In the distance, he could hear Namjoon and Jimin shouting as well as some other screams and yells, and as he looked around he noticed several areas the creature had ransacked. Namjoon hadn't explained much of what had happened as Yoongi made his way over; all he'd said was that the creature was proving to be more hassle than it was worth and the alternative was terminating it. The older male didn't like this option and naturally quickly agreed to take it into his care, even though he had none of the facilities to take care of something.

He followed the noises, until the assistant Jimin rushed out of the room with a broom in his hand. His eyes were wide, his hair frazzled and a long red scratch stretched down his cheek. He looked a little relieved at the sight of Yoongi.

"I'll get Namjoon." Jimin said, sounding rather out of breath. "You should probably go in without us; Birdy doesn't see you as a threat yet."

"Birdy..?" Yoongi muttered as he watched the younger male return to the other room. A few minutes later, he returned with Namjoon. Namjoon's state was definitely worse than his assistant's: his clothes were torn in several places, with more scratches appearing through the tears, and he looked more exhausted. He smiled tiredly when he saw Yoongi.

"He's in there. I'd be careful, he knows how to use his nails."

"Well that's reassuring. How am I supposed to get him home without an accident?" The younger scientist pulled a syringe from his pocket. As he did so, Yoongi wasn't surprised he always got into accidents.

"Get close to him and inject this into his bloodstream. It should knock him out."

"Should." Yoongi muttered, but accepted the syringe anyway. Despite previously judging Namjoon for doing the same thing, he put it in his pocket and tentatively entered the room.

'Birdy' was huddled in the far corner of the room, his whole body heaving as he panted. He watched Yoongi warily through a mop of messy black hair that clung to his forehead. The older male slowed down, trying to make sure he didn't make any sudden movements. He watched Birdy as he grew closer, properly taking in his appearance. His mutation was pretty clear from the wings that stretched out behind him, but the wings combined with his tattered white tunic made him look like some wild angel. But Yoongi knew he was probably just an orphaned child who had the misfortune (or fortune, depending on how he felt about it) of being picked up by Namjoon.

As Yoongi grew closer, Birdy scrambled closer to the wall and his body tensed up again. His wings moved, as though he was prepared to launch off.

"Wait," the older quickly said when he noticed this, "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a friend. I'm going to help you get out of here."

While Birdy didn't relax completely, he did push himself off the wall a little bit. He watched Yoongi, curiosity taking over the wariness in his gaze.

"You can trust me. Look!" Yoongi held his hands out in front of him, showing that they were empty. This didn't seem to satisfy the younger, as his gaze immediately dropped to the pockets of Yoongi's coat. This made the scientist chuckle. "You're a smart one. Alright, I'll take my coat off."

Slowly, he pulled his coat off and slid it to the side. To Yoongi's delight, Birdy visibly relaxed more. The older male decided to sit down on the ground, getting comfortable as he waited for the other to do the same. Birdy continued to watch him, his wings slowly falling to his side. As he began to realise that the stranger was what he said and potentially not a threat, he relaxed more, to the point where he started creeping over to Yoongi. He stopped in front of where the other was sitting, sitting down opposite him.

"See, no threat. Do you want to leave this place?" Birdy nodded. "Would you go with me?"

"No." was the first thing Birdy said to him. His voice cracked as he did so, and it was barely louder than a whisper. He shook his head, playing with a band on his wrist. "One of them."

"One of... Do you think I'm one of the men who keep you hear?" Birdy nodded. "I mean, I'm like them ― I'm a scientist ― but I'm not one of them. You can trust me, I promise."

"Home." Birdy kept his gaze dropped as he tucked his knees under his chin, hugging his legs to his chest. "Want to go home."

"I can take you there, to a new home." This didn't seem to please the younger boy, who just sat there motionless. Yoongi watched him for a few moments before exhaling slowly, rubbing his hands against his upper arms. "I'm getting cold. Do you mind if I put my coat back on?"

Birdy shook his head. He traced patterns on the floor as Yoongi crawled over to get the coat he'd discarded, watching the older through his peripheral. The scientist pulled his coat on and returned to Birdy. He watched the winged boy as he continued to sit there, getting as close as he could before placing his hand in his pocket. Birdy glanced up at him at the last moment, seeing Yoongi's apologetic gaze before he was pushed to the ground and a syringe was jabbed into his neck. He thrashed at first, making the older male's job as difficult as he could before the contents of the syringe started to take effect.

He felt himself weakening again as the darkness started to take over. He stared at Yoongi until he could no longer keeps his eyes open, making sure to glare at the stranger for as long as he could. He was going to make him pay when he woke back up.

―