fortuitous odds

[19] good luck

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The dirty floor did little to deter Jungkook from sitting curled up beside a small metal bowl where he was meticulously placing a mix of Timothy grass and some leaves from a veggie garden a few houses down. Beside him sat Mari eagerly watching whilst he prepared her food.

Outside the house had been flooded with silence, an eerie peace to a place that should have been filled with raucous this early in a morning. Eventually they'd notice he was gone too, hidden away in the one place of safety he'd spent so long trying to find. The fear of all of this being taken away overwhelming beyond any physical feeling. The only way to describe it was like drowning. To be free in an ocean where no one could constrain him, only to be pulled under and forced to fight the water that filled his lungs.

Yet the world had brought him this simple beacon of hope, formed by the hands of a boy who played with life and death so nonchalantly. Maybe hope wasn't so difficult to find when it could be handcrafted by the unique nature of the people that had become his home. These little moments were like gasps for air, enough to reprieve him for a few hours longer.

"C'mere," he whispered tenderly, as if speaking to a young child. Gently he guided Mari to the bowl, one hand sweeping across her ears before retreating to begin packing for his journey. "I wanna take you with me," He continued to mumble absent-mindedly, tugging on his stained white boots and a denim jacket that was now covered in vibrant spray paint. "But I don't want you hurt. Promise when I come back I'll bring you all the celery you can eat." Mari didn't waver from her meal, leaving Jungkook to laugh in realisation of his own strange habits. "This is Chut's fault. She always talked to herself yaknow? I bet I could guess what she'd say if she saw you. She'd gasp and say 'My Kookie what did they do to you?!' And then she'd spend the next ten minutes pretending I was turned into a rabbit." He giggled fondly, zipping up his bag and turning to see her now hopping around the space, little nose scrunched up curiously with each new smell. "I'll see you soon, okay?" There was no other sound that hit the empty air.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

The first thing that hit him was a pummel to his arm, nearly toppling into the wall only to be swept up by the very person to start such violence. It was swiftly contrasted by a gentle hug around his waist, then flipped back into hostility when Taehyung shoved him to the wall.

"Asshole!"

"What did I do now?" Jungkook huffed, glowering at the silver boy with eyes that lacked any malice.

"Stop disappearing. We're supposed to be on lockdown and I wake up to you gone! I thought you'd left already." The tremble of Taehyung's tone was enough to soften Jungkook's expression, reaching out to wipe at the invisible tears that threatened to drop the anchor around his ankle.

"I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye. Was just feeding Mari..."

"Seriously? You left amid a life threatening ambush to feed your rabbit?"

"You're the one who gave her to me!" Snapped Jungkook back, taking ahold of the boy's wrists and attempting to twist them so the other could feel the heat for once. Only Taehyung was quick to deflect, foot swiping under his legs so that he fell forward and was forced to be saved by the very boy he had been trying to threaten. "That's not fair!" He yelped with a startled breath, both stumbling into the purple kitchen where the other boys were still waking up. "You want me to starve her?"

"She's a rabbit! You don't need to feed her a three course meal."

"You would make a terrible parent."

"Excuse me?! I would make a great parent. You'd be a helicopter dad!" Before they knew it they were colliding with the couch, falling into a tustle of childish banter. None of the boys interrupted, Hoseok particularly was tempted to egg them on. But decided watching them in their own little world of innocence was a much needed start to the morning.