flowers and ink » yoonmin

eight.

After the second round of the shouting match and the Vacuum Incident, Jimin realized something. This epiphany hit him when he woke abruptly at three o'clock that night. He squinted, groaning at the numbers on the clock. He couldn't fall asleep, so naturally, he started thinking. His mind ended up on Yoongi. The boy was strange. By now, Jimin could tell that everything Yoongi did was an act; the insults and attitude were a facade and nothing more. He figured that someone who had a panic attack because of a vacuum's sound would have a reason for pushing people away. He rolled over, throwing a leg over the top of his sheets. He was sweating, and far too hot to fall back asleep. So he continued to think of Yoongi. He decided then, in that strange place between asleep and awake, that he would treat Yoongi gently. The boy needed to know that Jimin wouldn't hurt him. As he rucked his sheets up by his feet and fell back asleep, he didn't realize that it was the other way around.

~~~

When Yoongi came in the next morning, Jimin greeted him with a smile and a hot chocolate he had rushed to purchase from Cafe Bliss. Yoongi narrowed his eyes but accepted the drink. Jimin felt a small sense of accomplishment as Yoongi drank the hot chocolate. A week ago, he probably would've made Jimin watch as he poured it down the drain. Jimin made Yoongi man the desk and cleaned the store. He was watering the window plants when he saw Jungkook walking down the street. His face broke out into a broad smile and he ran to the checkout desk.

"Yoongi! Do you want to deal with Jungkook or should I?" He asked. Yoongi looked alarmed at the prospect of Jungkook, no doubt remembering his first and only encounter with the lovestruck boy. He wordlessly stepped aside and went into the back room. He came out with a bunch of flowers as the bell announced Jungkook's arrival. Jimin waited, brimming with excitement. When Jungkook walked up to the counter, it was all the older boy could do to refrain from hugging him.

"Jungkook! I feel like I haven't seen you forever!"

"I know!" Jungkook grinned. Jimin leaned on his elbows.

"How's Taehyung?" He asked, eyes crinkling.

"We're dating now!" Jungkook exclaimed happily. "He actually likes me! He's so adorable and I think I'm falling in love, help."

Jimin laughed. "Love is beautiful, Jungkook, don't be afraid." Then he heard a crash and a yelp and his heart plummeted like a stone to the bottom of the ocean.

"Jungkook, I'll be right back." He ran to the source of the crash, the only thing on his mind Yoongi, Yoongi, Yoongi, is he okay? He found Yoongi in aisle one, body shaking as he stood, staring blankly at a toppled foot stool.

"Yoongi! Are you okay?" Jimin asked as he drew nearer. He gently placed the foot stool on its feet again, not missing how Yoongi flinched a little bit. A single white rose lay crushed beneath the stool.

"I'm fine." Yoongi exhaled shakily, in a way that told Jimin he wasn't fine.

"Yoongi," he said softly. "Listen to me. I've decided that you can't hurt me." Yoongi's jaw clenched at the words, but Jimin continued. "The only person you're hurting is yourself. But we can talk about that later, okay? What matters right now is that you're not okay. You're scared of loud noises, right?" The way Yoongi looked at the floor, hiding underneath his hair, was all the confirmation Jimin needed. Jimin picked up Yoongi's hand and laid it on his chest, over his heart. "You feel my heartbeat? It's nice and slow and regular. I want you to focus on that, okay? Concentrate on matching your heartbeat to mine." Jimin's voice stayed soft and quiet, and he continued to keep Yoongi's hand in place over his heart.

"I don't understand you," Yoongi muttered. "I've been nothing but a jerk to you and you still pull stuff like this." Jimin let go of Yoongi's hand, where it stayed on his chest for a second before falling to Yoongi's side. Jimin shrugged one shoulder and turned away, walking back to Jungkook, who was waiting nervously.

"What happened?" He asked.

"My co-worker, Yoongi, dropped something," Jimin said smoothly.

"The one who you fu-"

"We did not have sex! Jesus Christ!"

"Oh."

"Jungkookie, what is wrong with you?" Jimin laughed and Jungkook just shrugged, smiling.

"I've gotta pick Taehyung up, we're having a date day," he said, checking the time on his phone. "Bye!"

"Have fun," Jimin said, watching as Jungkook left. Yoongi wandered back to the desk not long after, and he pretended like nothing had happened. Jimin just let it slide.

~~~

At the end of the day, Jimin saw Yoongi off and entered his apartment. He could feel Yoongi's walls crumbling but he didn't want to push him when he wasn't ready. He decided that he could wait; the mystery of Yoongi was unravelling, and the last string needed to be pulled by Yoongi himself. Jimin noticed the heaps of laundry laying around and grimaced. He had to go to the dry-cleaner's. The one Yoongi's cousin was in charge of. Sighing, he gathered his clothes and grabbed his phone and earbuds. He walked delicately through the alley that served as his apartment's exit, nose wrinkling. When he stepped out of the darkness, he was greeted by a warm breeze and light. It was a beautiful day, and there was lots of foot traffic on the sidewalks. Kids played in the street and he smiled at their antics. The dry-cleaner's was one of the first buildings on the street and he shouldered his dirty laundry, hoping that Yoongi wouldn't be there. Thankfully, the tattooed boy was nowhere to be found, and Jimin managed to get his clothes washed without any embarrassment. He returned to his apartment and tried not to feel claustrophobic, thoughts of Yoongi plaguing him, as usual, until he fell asleep.

this isn't that good i'm sorRY
when you're listening to the red hot chili peppers and they hit you with that "all i ever wanted was your life" lyric