Jimin's Plan

Chapter 24

As they finished eating two hours later, stars swept across an indigo sky. Jungkook hadn't said much, Jimin mused. But then again, he hadn't had to.

Jimin known exactly what Jungkook was thinking without him saying a word. Mostly because he was thinking the same thing. That kiss they'd shared had set off a chain reaction inside him that was still fizzing like a lit sparkler.

He'd come to Jungkook wanting child. Now, he also wanted him. Which complicated the situation, but didn't really change anything. And oddly enough, the more Jungkook withdrew, the more he was drawn to him. What did that say about him?

When Jimin gathered up the dishes and the pan he'd used to cook in and stacked them to carry to the river to wash, Jungkook beat him to it. "I'm supposed to be doing all of this, remember?" Jimin said. "Part of the whole survival-prove-you're-worthy test?"

Jungkook smirked at him, shook his head and carried the small load to the river. He fell into step behind him, determined to earn his way. He'd cooked a good dinner. At least, he was taking the fact that Jungkook had eaten two of the fish himself as a good sign. But part of being outdoors, camping, was the cleanup and Jimin wouldn't walk away from a job half done.

"Seriously, I'm cleaning up." Jimin caught him at the river, took the plates and pan from him and dropped to his knees in the sand beside the rushing water. Jungkook crouched, too, and waited until he met his gaze to speak again.

"Accepting help doesn't mean you can't do it yourself."

"I know, but you're the one who said it was all up to me and I want to do this. I want to prove to you that I can do this job."

"You already have."

That stopped Jimin. "Really?"

Jungkook shrugged, glanced away, then looked back at Jimin and gave him a reluctant smile. "You're a good campfire cook."

"Yeah?" Ridiculously pleased, Jimin grinned. "Thanks, I did notice you ate a lot."

Jungkook laughed shortly. "Yeah, well, I've never had pan-fried trout with an herb sauce on the trail."

"Well, I brought along a few things from the lodge kitchen. With the right spices, you can make any meal a banquet..."

"So I'm learning."

It only took a few minutes to clean up the dishes and then they were walking back to the campfire, a companionable silence stretching out between them. Once the supplies had been put away, Jimin sat down across from Jungkook. And the quiet lingered, becoming a tension that felt almost brittle. Jimin spoke up finally, because he never had been able to be quiet for long anyway.

Besides, it was time to find out exactly where he stood. Jimin took a breath and faced the hard truth. He wanted to bring up the subject before Jungkook did, so that he could put his own spin on his less-than-stellar performance on his series of 'tests'.

Jungkook had admitted that he was considering giving him the job, and if his decision was going to be based on his skills at his tests, then Jimin wanted to defend himself before Jungkook made his final decision.

"About the rope bridge," Jimin began. "I know I didn't go very fast, but I did eventually make it."

"You did."

"And I think if I'd had a little more time—" like a million years, Jimin added silently "—I probably could have made it over the climbing wall on my own steam."

"You did better than some I've seen."

That was a bit lowering, Jimin thought. Not good, he told himself, but better than some. Remembering just how poorly he'd done at the climbing, he could only feel sorry for whoever was actually worse than him.

"All in all, you did a good job," Jungkook said and Jimin's thoughtful gaze narrowed on him. He shrugged. "Frankly, I didn't expect you to hold up as well as you have."

"Oooh. Big surprise." Jimin smiled though, giving him silent encouragement to keep talking. If Jungkook was feeling generous toward him, he wanted to hear it.

"Right. Well." Firelight danced across Jungkook's features, tossing shadow and light over the sharp planes of his face, making his guarded eyes even more difficult to read than they normally were. "Like I said, you've got spine. And that's important. Maybe more important than being able to climb a wall on your own."

"So I didn't lose points because you had to give me a boost?"

"No," Jungkook said. "You didn't ask for help, after all."

"True," Jimin said eagerly. "And I wouldn't have."

"I know."

"So you said earlier, you were considering giving me the job." Jimin took another deep breath and blurted out his question. "Have you decided? Because if your mind still isn't made up, we can go back to the wall. I can try it again. I'm pretty sure I could do it with enough time..."

Jungkook chuckled briefly. "You really don't know the meaning of quit, do you?"

"Not when I really want something." Jimin admitted.

"Yeah, I get that. So we don't have to go back to the wall."

"You've made your decision, then."

"I have." Jungkook nodded. "If you still want the job, you have it."

"Really?" Bubbles of excitement burst into life inside Jimin. Funny, but he hadn't realized just now how stressed he'd been about this. If Jungkook hadn't offered him the job, he'd had no backup plan. No way to convince him to let him stay. No strategy for getting him into bed and making him pregnant. Now, thankfully, one wouldn't be needed. He'd be here, on the mountain with Jungkook, everyday.

Every night. 😏

And soon, he'd have the baby, the family he wanted so badly. All he had to do was say yes.

"Of course I want the job." Jimin told him.

"All right then, it settled."

But Jungkook didn't look happy about it. "Can I ask you something?"

"Why not?"

"Why are you being nice to me?" Maybe he shouldn't push his luck. Maybe he should just accept Jungkook's job offer at face value and count his blessings. But Jimin had to know why he'd decided in his favor. "We both know I never would have passed your tests if you hadn't help me. So why did you?"

_____________🐥❤️🐰_____________

A/N:

Jimin on his way to Jungkook's bed ☺️
Take note, every night 😂😂😂

Love yah 😘

Borahae 💜💜💜