Blue

Namjoon

Jungkook hadn't ever had nightmares as such, maybe the odd bad dream but nothing he would call an actual nightmare. He was currently in the bathroom, splashing his face with water after he had finally managed to calm Vante down when he had woken, thrashing around in his sleep. The policeman could handle that but what he couldn't deal with were the tears, the sobbing that still resonated in his head. It led him to thoughts about whether these nightmares occurred as a result of Vante's job and the general things he saw and experienced or whether it was much deeper than that. He suspected that this bad dream was linked to the client that caused the injuries that were more prominent in the hours that passed and he was thankful that Vante returned to his bed because it made him feel sick thinking of the stripper suffering in bed alone.

He took a deep breath before leaving the bathroom, trying to compose himself to return to bed where he would remain calm and be the strength that Vante needs. It took a little longer than expected to straighten himself out so he nipped into the kitchen to grab a couple of drinks then made his way to the bedroom, pushing aside the feeling that he liked having the stripper here. The sound of his feet padding across the floor in the dead of the night was a sound he was used to but his bed was usually empty, along with the rest of his home and his heart, it was his heart becoming full that he was trying his utmost to ignore but it was becoming a challenge to do that.

"Drink?" he asked as he approached the bed where Vante was looking at his phone after getting a message from Yoongi.

"Thanks." was the quiet reply.

"Is everything okay?"

Vante looked at Jungkook, initially thinking it was a daft question but realising he meant whatever was holding his attention on his phone "Yeah. Yoongi checking up on me and making sure you hadn't murdered me or anything."

He didn't know how much Vante was aware of because just a little while ago Jungkook was wrapped around him holding him tight, rocking him and whispering quietly in his ear trying to soothe him. Jungkook wasn't sure if everything he'd ever heard about waking people from nightmares was true, it was always said to be a bad thing to do and he'd not wanted to take the risk with Vante. When the policeman got into bed, he kept a distance between them because he didn't want to crowd the stripper or encroach on his space. He also reminded himself that they were not a 'they', he didn't know what they were but he wasn't really sure if they were even friends.

"Do you want to talk about anything?" he looked at Vante who looked so innocent, almost angelic but the marks visible on his neck were a reminder that sadly his life didn't allow him to be innocent.

"The Patriots are probably going to win the Superbowl again." Vante sipped from the bottle.

"You watch NFL?"

"Not really. I heard people talking about it. I don't really get the time."

"What else don't you get the time for?"

"The beach. I used to get strawberry ice cream and watch the waves crash on the rocks."

"Anything else?"

"This." Vante was looking down but slowly lifted his gaze, eyelashes long and curled, until he made eye contact with Jungkook.

"This?"

"Being me. Being intimate with someone who isn't paying for me to be with them. Being with someone who isn't connected to the clubs. Being able to feel like I matter, even if only for a short time."

Jungkook thought he was going to cry or that his heart would break... he didn't know which but in this moment, he didn't really care. He didn't want to pity the stripper and that wasn't what he was feeling, yet he couldn't help the sadness that descended.