Precious Gems | JiKook

九

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"You're really testing your limits here, Jungkook."

Just woken up from a relaxing nap, the first thing Taehyung wanted to deal with really wasn't his battered and bruised best friend standing at his front door once again. Jungkook had been gone when he woke up, and though Taehyung did expect him to come back, he didn't think it was too much to want him back in one piece as well.

The right side of Jungkook's jaw was painted in various shade of blue and purple. It was definitely swollen, Taehyung squinting as he realized that Jungkook's face was almost lopsided now. His lip was nearly busted, blood caked around his piercing and making the older boy visually grimace. He finally sighed, stepping to the side to give Jungkook room to walk inside. "What did you do now?"

Jungkook made his way over to Taehyung's couch, throwing himself onto it and breathing out a deep sigh of relief. Never in his life had Taehyung's couch been more comfortable. He sniffled a few times, trying to ignore the blood that he knew has drying in his nostrils. "It's the same answer I had to give you last night, Hyung. You know I can't tell you that."

Taehyung narrowed his eyes, shutting his front door and crossing his arms over his chest as he slowly made his way over to Jungkook. He wore the same outfit as last night, obviously slept in, but now his fluffy peach coloured hair was tied up into a small ponytail.

The thin silver chain around his neck glinted in the overhead light as he crouched down next to where Jungkook was lying on the couch, making them at eye level.

"I don't like that answer." He spoke, gaze hard on the younger boy as Jungkook propped his head up on his hand to more comfortably look at Taehyung. "I don't want you to give me one of your bullshit retorts either. Talk to me, Jungkook. What the hell is going on?"

Jungkook sighed and looked down. He knew that this was a lot for Taehyung to deal with, let alone without any answers to why it was happening. What he also knew though, was that he absolutely could not tell Taehyung the whole truth. Especially not without asking Jimin beforehand. The fact that he was disposable had hung over his head since he met the older thief.

"It's really nothing, Hyung." Jungkook finally replied, and he wasn't quite sure what hurt more; the fact that he had lied, or the look on Taehyung's face when the older realized he did.

The frustration in Taehyung's eyes had morphed into a more pained expression. He opened and closed his mouth a few times as if he were about to say something, but Jungkook watched him give up and merely shake his head instead.

The older male stood up wordlessly. He grabbed a lighter and an already rolled joint off of his coffee table, stuffing them in the pockets of his sweatpants. Jungkook noticed that his hands were shaking. Taehyung being silent was something that seldom happened unless he accidentally got too high for his own liking.

Jungkook was aware that he was fucking up pretty badly.

"Hyung, wait." He brought his hand up to his head, a looming headache finally deciding to make itself more well known. "If I tell you what I'm currently going through right now, there's a really high change that you could get killed too." The brunette looked down, observing his swollen knuckles. "I don't even want to think about that happening."

"Too?" Taehyung spoke up, Jungkook meeting his distraught gaze. "I could get killed, too? Meaning that you're already on the verge of dying?"Jungkook hesitated, before nodding. "Why are you doing this?"

The older man walked over to the other side of the room when Jungkook gave him the silent treatment once more, reaching into his dresser drawer to pull out a carton of cigarettes. Jungkook knew that Taehyung had been trying to quit, that's why there was a nearly empty jar or suckers still sitting on the table.