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.

For once, Jungkook looked away from the television to them. His knees were hugged to his chest, making him look even smaller than before. Having not thought about it as he walked in, Yoongi was grateful the boy had a blanket wrapped around him and his wings were now pressed flat. He sent a grateful look towards Jungkook, hoping his message was clear to him.

"Hi Jungkook!" Hoseok said happily, sitting down on the chair across from the couch. Jungkook stared at him, pulling the blanket tighter. "What're you watching? Waitー I've seen this one. Who's your favourite character?"

Jungkook pointed at the male that was currently on the screen. He then spoke for the first time that day, "One."

"That one?" The older repeated and the younger nodded. "Yeah, he's pretty good. Taehyung's a good actor."

"Taehyung."

"Yeah, Taehyung ー Kim Taehyung. He's one of the hottest actors these days." Hoseok continued, successfully gaining the undivided attention of the boy. "He just appeared as a minor character in this medical series and then his career just skyrocketed from there. I can understand why though; he's an amazing actor."

"I would like to see him." Jungkook said softly, returning his gaze to the screen. It was currently a close up of the now crying actor. "I would like to give him something."

Yoongi, having been listening to the conversation from the side, now saw this as an opportunity to step in: "Hoseok, do actors do fan-meet type things?"

"There's a convention coming up, he might be there."

"Hey Kookie, if Taehyung is at the convention would you like me to take you there?" This immediately got a furious nod from the younger and a small smile. Progress, that was Yoongi's immediate reaction; surely this was progress. "I'll see what happens then and keep an eye on tickets. Hoseok could come to, if he wants."

"Sure, I was planning on going anyway." Hoseok smiled at the pair. "We should eat though, before the dinner goes cold."

"Want to get dressed and then come eat?" Jungkook took the hint and got up, walking to the bedroom with his blanket still wrapped around him. A few moments later he reappeared, fully dressed in his 'outside' clothes.

The eating of dinner commenced not long after, as Yoongi and Hoseok dug into their meals and Jungkook picked at his own.

Although Jungkook didn't eat then, in the two older men's company, he did sneak out later when Yoongi was asleep. He picked at the food he hadn't eaten earlier, like he had been for every other meal ー just enough to stave off the hunger but not enough to be noticed by Yoongi's gaze.

He licked his sauce-coated fingers before scooping some of the rice in his hand. As he ate this from his palm, he kept a watchful eye at the bedroom door. The house emitted a small noise, startling the boy. Too paranoid to continue eating, he put the container away and licked the remainder of the food from his hand. Then, he returned to the bedroom, pausing at the sleeping male's makeshift bed. He stared at him through the darkness.

"Good night, Yoongi." He whispered before climbing into his own bed and curling up under the blankets. It took a while for him to fall asleep ー too on guard to allow himself to relax ー but as he tried to synchronise his breathing with Yoongi's he found it a lot easier to. For once, it was a dreamless night.

ー
me writing this story: