au where namjoon is a wildlife rescuer with a love for helping the most misunderstood creatures, and jungkook is a werebat whose alternative form is that of a teeny fruitbat.

joonie gets a call one day about a timid little fruitbat that flew into an old ladys kitchen and snacked on her apples while she was visiting her grandchildren. hes never had such an easy time rescuing an animal, the little guy just about crawled into the large mesh net himself!

the little bat is such a sweet creature, medium sized and most definitely malnourished. hes peaceful as namjoon Bat Burritos him in a cookie patterned blanket, almost happy, so namjoon gives him the name kookie! (naming the rescues is always one of his favorite parts of his work)

the little guy eats apple slices out of namjoons hand like he's RAVENOUS, squeaks and chirps in greeting when namjoon checks on him each morning before he starts tending to other bats that share the same enclosure.

he finds the little bat has grown quite attached to him. one day, while hes working with a particularly ornery, large, and blind fruitbat named yoongi (after his beloved roommate/best friend), namjoon hears the flip of little bat wings and feels tiny claws stick into his sweater.

its not nearly enough to reach his skin, let alone pierce it, so namjoon simply lets him be on his shoulder. he even leaves the bat enclosure with kookie still clinging to him, feeds the fruitbat small grapes and bits of mango as he checks on the other animals in the facility.

this continues for a few months, just while the little guy gets his strength back and builds back up to a healthy weight for his size. namjoon has to let kookie go, he demonstrates that he can survive well on his own, and namjoons almost.. sad to see his little bat friend go.

two weeks later someone shows up at their door, right before namjoon is about to leave for the night. hes pale, has wild dark and wavy hair that frames his face beautifully, and the biggest brown eyes. namjoon swears that when he smiles he catches a glimpse of fangs?

the stranger politely introduces himself as jeon jungkook, and thanks namjoon for always taking such good care of the bats.

"we do our best here." namjoon says sheepishly. "if, um, if youd like to help us with our work, if you can, of course, we always accept donations."

jungkook asks if he can make an anonymous donation to the facility, rather, if he has to use his legal name in the donation. while namjoon guides him through the process, he makes small talk, and namjoon finds a particular peculiarity in how jungkook just seems to..

know so much about their little facility. he asks sweetly if yoongi is doing better with his medications, and it takes a few moments for namjoon to register that no one really knows about all that except for two of his other coworkers that care for the bats.

namjoon simply shushes the frantic chattering in his head. jungkook is probably just .. related to taehyung or seokjin, somehow. god knows taehyung never shuts his mouth about their work. hes probably just his weird, pretty cousin from out of town. or something.

jungkook spends an odd amount of time on the name slip for his donation, something they always like to get so the facility can display them on an overcrowded corkboard in the lobby. he hands namjoon the slip, and in the time it takes namjoon to glance down to skim, and back up-

the boy disappears? like he was never even there? the only evidence namjoon has of him ever being in the lobby in the first place is the donation slip. he gets a good look at it now, and in the name section "kookie" is written, with a little bat drawing.

how odd.

namjoon continues packing up and closing down for the night anyways, makes one last round of checks before he walks to his car. when he leaves, hes sure that he sees kookie hanging upside down from one of the outside shutters, chirping happily in greeting.

jungkook keeps coming by, always when namjoon is working and no one else, makes small donations with the same doodled "kookie" signature before vanishing, and namjoon legitimately worries if the facility is suddenly haunted, or if hes just lost his marbles.

it all comes to a head when namjoon asks jungkook why he cares about the bats so much.

"theyre my friends?" he says, with this lilt, chewing on one of the facilities pens. "i spent a good while with them."

"how are they... your friends?" namjoons brows furrow.

jungkook rolls his eyes, namjoon would find it rude if he wasnt so cute. "i /thought/ i was being obvious." he points in the direction of the corkboard of donations.

"i dont-"

"kookie? yknow? the little fruitbat?" he pouts. "you gave me mangos."

"i- what?"

jungkook sighs, it borders on an exasperated groan, and before namjoon can even blink the boy is gone again. this time, though, he hears insistent squeaking from the floor. when he glances over the front counter, a sweet, familiar little fruitbat stares back up at him.

it clicks, and namjoon walks around the counter in order to scoop up the little fruitbat and place him on top of it.

"you really are him, huh?" truly, he should be questioning this more, but hes mainly just relieved theyre not like, haunted.

the bat chirps in response.

then, just as fast as jungkook had turned into the bat, he turns back, sitting cross legged on the counter, and when namjoon sees him up close like this it really shouldve been more obvious. jungkooks hair is the same tint of brown as kookies fur, has the same big dark eyes.

namjoon is /stupidly/ distracted by how pretty jungkook is this close up, only half listening as he explains what exactly a werebat is. namjoon can see his fangs when he speaks.

"hoseok-hyung /told/ me i should stay away, s' not easy being like this, yknow?"

jungkook moves to tug his knees close to his chest, pouting again. "but i /love/ mangos n' you were just so nice, and /cute/. i wanted to keep seeing you."

"are you flirting with me?" namjoon blurts, to which jungkook gives a resounding 'duh'.

jungkook asks him out then and there, to which namjoon politely, gently declines to set a concrete date for (but doesnt outright reject him, joons not /that/ dull) because his brain is short circuting, he needs to go home and /sleep/.

in the coming months, namjoon learns a lot about werebats. for starters, jungkook outright refuses daytime dates, claims that the 'blind as a bat' thing is /wholly/ untrue, but he still gets headaches easily.

("had an absolutely /killer/ one when u found me." he says, munching through what has to be his third apple of the day.

"rescued." namjoon says, matter of factly. jungkook sticks his tongue out at him.)

fruitbats also have .. odd ways of courtship that present in werebats of the same species as well. jungkook likes to worm his way into joons grasp, get him to wrap his arms around jungkooks waist. he claims its what /mates/ do, snuggles closer with a peaceful little sigh.

its.. definitely weird, namjoons never really been that much of a cuddler, but jungkook is just so cute he cant help but indulge him. it also feels almost disrespectful to ignore it when jungkooks trying very hard to be obvious for him.

eventually, jungkook introduces him to hoseok and jimin, a fruitbat and vampire bat, respectively. at one point, apparently, hed helped bat hoseok get un-stuck from a wire fence, which was the entire reason hoseok didnt stop jungkook from seeing him entirely.

its awkward to explain to his roommate that /yes/, his boyfriend is a supernatural creature that can transform into a bat, even more awkward when yoongi asks jungkook to transform within seconds of meeting him. (jungkook does it, ofc. yoongi thinks his squeaks are cute.)

eventually everyone gets roped into knowing about the little group of werebats.

and if, two months later, namjoon runs into post-nap scruffy yoongi in their kitchen, and sees a sleepy bat hobi clinging to his right shoulder, he doesnt say a word.

[im sorry there isnt like a concrete ending omfg they end up happily ever after !!!! joonie loves his weird goth bat boyfie!!!! yoongi also loves his weird sunshine bat boyfie. its very fun when seokjin jokes that yoongi shouldve been the werebat.]

[anyways yell in my cc abt BATKOO ill prolly revisit smth like this at another point i have a few tentative ideas heheheh http://curiouscat.me/twinkjoon  and kofi in bio!!]