Embracing Power. ✅

Cleaning up

Jungkook stood outside Meow or Never, arms folded over his head as he watched the sun begin to rise. Under normal circumstances, he loved watching the dark blue, almost black color of the sky start to lighten and change into the soft purples and blues of dawn. Today wasn't normal, though. His furry friend was lying, passed out on a table in the shelter, a cone preventing him from licking at his wounds, his house had been broken into, and his bedroom carpet was now stained with the blood of his beloved pets.

Who would have bothered to break into the house? Was it his stalker? It almost had to be; they had never had an issue like this before this crazy person started all their trouble. Why would they break into the house, to begin with? It's not like they kept bundles of money or expensive things lying around; they weren't like that. God, he wished they had never left Cypher at home. He was always welcome at Tae's, and he and Tannie got along, but no, they thought he would like an evening at home. Ugh, what were they going to go? How were they going to fix this? Did he even want to go back to that house? They were lucky they weren't home. Would the person have tried to break in if they had been? Would things have gone worse than just Cypher being hurt?

Jungkook broke out of his thoughts when a pair of arms snaked around his waist, hugging him from behind.

"Love?" Jimin placed a kiss on the back of Jungkooks shoulder. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Where is home anymore, Jiminie?" The desolation and confusion in Jungkooks voice broke Jimin's heart.

Jimin turned Jungkook around to face him, cupping Jungkooks face in his small hands. "You listen to me Jeon Jungkook. Your home is wherever you choose to make it. If you want to go back to your house, then the rest of us will make sure it's cleaned up properly. If you decide you can't stay there, you know you're welcome at Tae's with the rest of us. If you don't want that, then well, we'll all find you and Namjoonie another house. All we want is you to be comfortable, no matter where that is love."

"Can we go back to my house?"

"Of course, love. Let's go."

Jimin pulled up in front of Jungkook and Namjoon's house. He walked slowly beside Jungkook, not wanting to rush him, letting Jungkook take the time to gather himself before walking in. Jungkook took his time trudging up the steps towards the bedroom, mentally preparing himself for the sight that his eyes would see when he opened the door.

Instead of blood-stained carpet and bedding strewn around the room, the bed was neatly made, and you could not only see the damp carpet from the recent shampoo it had, but you could also smell the fresh scent of the cleaner that was used-no blood in sight.

"I- what... how - what?" Jungkook's eyes darted around the room, searching for whoever did this.

"Looks like one of the others was already here." Jimin rubbed his hand over Jungkooks back, offering a small bit of comfort. "They probably wanted to make sure you wouldn't have to worry about it."

"Ok, well. I'm good here, Jiminie. You don't have to stay."

"Love.."

"No, it's fine. I want to rearrange the room. I want it to look different than it did when.. well. Yeah. Just different." His eyes scan the room, mentally making the changes he wanted in his head. "You don't need to stay, babe; I got this."

"I know you do. But I want to help. It will go faster that way."

Both men rolled up their sleeves, slowly hauling everything out of the room into the hallway. Jungkook wasn't lying when he said he wanted the room to look different. They ended up pulling the king-size bed from the guest room into the master bedroom, along with the nightstands and dresser. Basically swapping out all the important pieces of furniture. But he put the furniture in a different layout; he didn't want to walk into the room and see things how they used to be. They got the clothing put away and the few decorations put back in their spots. Jungkook threw out the old bedding and Cypher's old bed. He planned on ordering everything new online, so he and Namjoonie would have to stay at Tae's house until it came in.

When Jungkook and Jimin finally got back to Tae's, Jungkook walked straight up to his room, undressing along the way, and stepped right into the shower, cranking the hot water way up. He was sweaty and sticky from all the work they had done and wanted nothing more than to wash the sweat off and relax his muscles and his brain.

Jungkooks palms were pressed against the shower wall, his head hanging low under the spray of hot water when he felt arms wrap around him from behind.

"You ok, love?" The husky voice from his Namjoonie whispered in his ear.

"No. No, I'm not. Someone was in our house Joon. Someone was in our house, and they hurt Cypher. How can someone hurt an innocent dog? What do they want from us? From me?"

Namjoon turned Jungkook around, cupping his face, seeing the red swollen eyes and cheeks that would normally have been streaked with tears if it hadn't been for the water. He could see the despair in Jungkook's eyes and wished he had answers for him.

"I don't know, love. I wish I did, but I don't know." He placed a soft kiss on Jungkooks forehead, pulling him closer. "But Jimin said Cypher would be fine; he just needs to heal. Nothing was taken that I could see. And I made sure everything was cleaned up for you. Jimin mentioned you both rearranged."

"Yeah. We need to pick out new bedding. I just couldn't.. "

"Ok. We'll do that after our shower." Namjoon pressed his lips against Jungkooks, offering as much comfort as he could. "It will be ok, my love; I'll make sure of it." He reached behind Jungkook and turned the water off, stepping out first, wrapping a towel around his waist before handing one to Jungkook.

They dried off before slipping into bed. Namjoon pulled his laptop onto his lap, opening it while discussing what sort of bedding they wanted.

*****

Tae was in his room on the phone, deep in discussion with someone he knew he could count on to get the information he needed. He had an idea what was going on, but he needed to make sure first.

He had gone back through the security tapes at NamKook's house, and though he didn't recognize the person on the screen, he knew someone who might. He had taken a screenshot of it and emailed it to the person he was currently speaking with and the slight hitch in their voice when they opened it told him everything he needed to know.

"I want to know why. Why would they target Jungkook?"

The feminine voice on the other end gave him the answer he feared most.

"Sir, I don't think it's Jungkook they really want. It's you."