Chapter Text
“What the fuck, Joshua.” Soonyoung says, staring at the two figures that are cowering behind his roommate.
“I,” Joshua stutters. “They were hurt and homeless. I couldn’t just leave them.”
“The majority of hybrids that exist in this world are hurt and homeless, Joshua. We don’t have the resources to take care of them.” Soonyoung says.
Joshua’s eyebrows furrow together in frustration. “I’ll take care of them by myself, Soonyoung. It’s not your place to worry.” Joshua argues.
He’s on his way to his car, a plastic bag full of groceries in each hand. He struggles a little bit with fishing his key from his pocket and unlocking the car, but once his fingers have slipped into his pocket he sighs in relief. He throws the bags into the trunk with little care, throwing the door down as soon as he’s made sure that everything is as far in as it can go. He walks around to the front of his car, placing his hand on the handle before he hears a whimper.
He freezes, his hand finding the alarm button on his keys. He hears another whimper, this time it sounds like it came from someone else. They’re coming from the back of the shopping cart hub that he’s parked beside. He locks his car and follows the sound.
He’s met by the view of two hybrids curled around each other. Their clothes are tattered and from what Joshua can see of their skin, he sees barely any fat and a whole lot of bone.
“Hey,” He calls out, crouching down and sticking out a hand.
One lets out a breathy, scared whimper and burrows further into the other.
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. I just want to help.” Joshua says.
He sees one hybrid, the one that appears less scared, nudge the other before they’re both crawling towards him. He gets a better look at them in this lighting. They both look underfed, skin pulled taught over bone. One has longer hair, matted down and covered by a toque, making it hard for Joshua to make out what kind of hybrid he is since his ears are covered. The other is slightly brawnier, but still weak-looking, short ears poking out the top of his head. The brawny one makes a circle around Joshua, sniffing at him, before returning to his place beside the other.
“I have food in my car.” Joshua says. They both seem to perk up at that.
He leads them back to his car. He riffles through the bags of groceries in the trunk before deciding that a couple of granola bars will be enough to sustain them for the time being.
“I’m Joshua.” He says as he watches them scarf down the bars that he’s given them, two each.
“Joshua,” One tests out on his tongue, the wrapper of his bar long forgotten. “I’m Seungcheol. This is Jeonghan, he doesn’t talk too much.”
Joshua nods. “Well, Seungcheol and Jeonghan, if you’re willing, I’d love to help you get your feet back on the ground.” Joshua says.
“Our feet are already on the ground,” Jeonghan says, a little more clueless than Seungcheol as he points down to their tattered shoes. Seungcheol nudges him again.
“He didn’t mean it like that.” Seungcheol says. Jeonghan cringes.
Joshua smiles a little bit at that. “It’s okay. I just want to help you. Give you a stable place to sleep with a roof over your head and no worry about your next meal.” Joshua says.
Seungcheol narrows his eyes in Joshua’s direction. “You just met us. How can you be sure that we won’t tear your house apart or try to escape? Hybrids aren’t always the most trustworthy beings.” Seungcheol says.
It should confuse Joshua that Seungcheol would be so willing to refuse his offer, but Joshua is well versed in dealing with stubborn personalities.
“I’m known to be a little to trusting.” Joshua says. He catches Jeonghan’s eyes, begging him to let them stay with him. “And from what I can tell, you wouldn’t leave Jeonghan behind.”
Seungcheol’s face softens at the name before it turns hard again. “I only want what’s best for him, and you might not be that.”
“I may not have the best thing, but it’s definitely better than what you’ve got right now, right?” Joshua offers. Seungcheol nods without much hesitation.
Joshua sets up the extra room for Seungcheol and Joshua, suddenly glad that he and Soonyoung leased a three-person apartment when they moved to the main city. When he returns, Jeonghan and Seungcheol are still standing by the front door.
“Come on,” He says, reaching a hand towards them. “I’ll run a bath.”
Jeonghan takes Joshua’s hand, leaving Seungcheol to follow them both through the house. They follow Joshua as he pulls fluffy towels from the linen closet and places them on the counter of his bathroom. They stand in the doorway as he fills the tub, making sure that the water isn’t too hot or too cold and that the tub is filled with just the right amount of bubbles. He stands up to leave, but as he’s brushing past the two Jeonghan grabs his arm.
“Stay.” He mutters. Questions burn on Joshua’s tongue but he ignores them and just turns back into the bathroom.
It’s when he sees Seungcheol’s struggle to take off his own clothes that he understands. They’ve gone too long without proper nutrition and they’re weak. He helps them both out of their clothes and into the bathtub.
He starts on Seungcheol, seeing how happy Jeonghan is to just sit in the water and play with the bubbles. Seungcheol sits patiently as Joshua runs a damp, soapy cloth over his skin, watching in awe as the layers of dirt are wiped away. It’s been too long since either of them have had a proper washing.
“It’s it okay if I get in?” Joshua asks upon realizing that kneeling outside of the tub is too hard on his knees.
Seungcheol nods his head, and Joshua looks over at Jeonghan but he looks like he hasn’t even heard the question. He strips his clothes and grabs a cup from under the sink before he slips into the tub, the water warming his limbs as he sits down in between the two of them.
He uses the cup to wet Seungcheol’s hair. Seungcheol’s nose crinkles up in disgust when he feels the water touch his skin, to which Jeonghan giggles.
“He doesn’t really like water. Silly puppy.” Jeonghan giggles. Seungcheol leans around Joshua to snarl playfully at Jeonghan, and Joshua feels like he’s intruding on something intimate.
Joshua stays quiet, pouring shampoo onto his palms before working it into a lather in Seungcheol’s hair, avoiding his ears. It takes a few rounds of shampooing to actually get Seungcheol’s hair completely clean. He washes the fur on Seungcheol’s ears and tail separately, taking more time to be careful.
“Are you two registered?” Joshua asks, attempting to make small talk as he continues to scrub Seungcheol clean. Seungcheol nods.
“My old owner,” Seungcheol starts before pausing. “They put me out on the streets when she died. They said I hadn’t been left to anyone in the will so there was no where for me to go because the shelters in my area were full.”
“Where are you from?” Joshua asks. He holds the shower head over Seungcheol’s head to wash away the suds once he’s sure that the water is running at the right temperature.
“Daegu.” He says. He closes his eyes as Joshua wipes the dirt from his face. He seems so much more comfortable, and almost vulnerable, in this position, with Joshua taking care of him and Jeonghan playing happily off to the side.
“Daegu? That’s far, isn’t it?” Joshua says. He watches the water run down Seungcheol’s face, only now realizing how pretty Seungcheol is. How pretty they both are.
Seungcheol doesn’t say anything else, just nods.
Joshua works on Jeonghan next, needing far more shampoo this time. Cleaning Jeonghan is harder than cleaning Seungcheol is. Jeonghan is infatuated by the bubbles that cover the surface of the water in the tub, and he squirms around when Joshua runs water over his skin.
“Jeonghan, please.” Joshua says. Jeonghan giggles, but sits still for the next few minutes while Joshua works the shampoo into his hair.
“I’ll have to take you both to get your hair cut tomorrow.” Joshua says. Jeonghan panics, and he slaps Joshua’s hands away from his hair, tears welling in his eyes. “What? What did I do wrong?”
“It’s okay,” Seungcheol tells him. “He likes keeping it long, that’s all.”
Joshua can tell that that’s not the reason, but he doesn’t want to push it. They already trust him more than he was expecting them to.
“Just a trim. The ends are breaking, and your hair will look even better and healthier if you get it cut.” Joshua says, but Jeonghan shakes his head.
“Can I wash myself?” He asks, and Joshua’s heart squeezes in his chest. Joshua nods anyway.
“I’ll just be outside when you’re ready. Don’t lock the door, okay?” He says. Jeonghan nods. “Would you like Seungcheol to stay with you?”
Jeonghan shakes his head. Joshua takes Seungcheol by the hand and helps him out of the tub. He wraps a towel around Seungcheol’s shoulders. He leads Seungcheol out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.