flowers and ink » yoonmin

eighteen.

(a/n: slight mention of self harm; not too graphic)

The following Monday morning started smoothly. They had a lot of customers, and Jimin was busy helping them while Yoongi played the piano constantly. Jimin didn't have any desire to make Yoongi stop playing; he enjoyed it far more than he probably should. At one point during a lull in activity, Yoongi drew his legs up and folded them Indian style in the middle of a song. The childish action made Jimin grin and he quickly took a picture with his phone before tucking it away hurriedly, knowing that Yoongi would ridicule him if he was caught. Their lunch break started, and Jimin was thankful that no customers interrupted them. He knew it would make more sense if he and Yoongi ate in shifts so one of them could attend to customers, but he just wanted another excuse to be in Yoongi's presence.

~~~

After lunch break was when it happened.

Jimin heard a loud crash from the front of the store, where Yoongi was supposed to be putting out more plants. He remembered how skittish loud noises made Yoongi, so he ran to the source of the crash without hesitation, heart in his throat. When he arrived, all he could do for a moment was stare. Amongst a pile of ceramic shards and spilled dirt lay Yoongi, collapsed on the floor. His head was bent, forehead pressing against the tiles while his shoulders heaved. Jimin heard him sobbing, and the sound seemed to rip at the loose ends of his heart.

"Yoongi!" Jimin said. The pale-haired boy jerked up at Jimin's exclamation, forcing himself into a sitting position. He turned his left wrist into his shirt and pressed. The wince that followed the action wasn't lost on Jimin. As he surveyed the mess, he noticed a bloodstained jagged shard laying next to Yoongi. Jimin's eyes darted to Yoongi's left arm again and he knelt in front of the boy. Yoongi choked on another sob as he determinedly refused to make eye contact with Jimin. He covered his face with his right arm as Jimin gently turned over his left, shame written in every line and curve of his body. Jimin gasped involuntarily at the long gashes running across Yoongi's pale forearm, cutting through the vines and making the inked leaves drip red. It was a terrible kind of beauty and Jimin hated it.

"Yoongi, what the hell is this?" Jimin whisper-yelled.

"I-I dropped the pot and the noise was too loud," Yoongi admitted, sounding small and ashamed, voice muffled. Tears streaked his cheeks and his entire body was shaking. Jimin had never seen him like this before, and he hoped that he'd never have to again. Yoongi was strong, but sometimes even strong people become weak. Your own mind has the power to do that.

"Why...?" Jimin glanced at the cuts again, fingers fluttering nervously as his voice trailed off.

"It helps to quiet the noise," Yoongi explained hesitantly and shamefully, answering Jimin's unspoken question.

"Oh, Yoongi..." Jimin knew he had to stop Yoongi's bleeding, and as he let go of the boy's bleeding arm, Yoongi uncovered his face just in time to see Jimin take off his shirt. He wrapped the fabric around Yoongi's arm, not noticing how the other boy stared at his bare chest. For some reason, Jimin pressed a chaste kiss to the other boy's forehead. Before Yoongi could react, Jimin grabbed his hand and sat next to him, amid the shards of pottery and dirt. He felt the need to protect Yoongi from himself; he could feel every shake and tremor where their bodies pressed together. He knew that more customers might come in, and Yoongi wasn't in any shape to deal with them. His face was hidden in Jimin's chest, fingers clutching his shirt like Jimin was the only thing keeping him sane. Jimin stroked Yoongis' hair and cheeks until he stopped sobbing and could take deep breaths. Jimin moved so he was sitting in front of Yoongi, capturing the other boy's gaze. He positioned Yoongi's legs on either side of him and scooted closer until their foreheads touched, disregarding the shards of pottery digging into his legs. Tears swam in Yoongi's fractured looking eyes, and his skin was ashy and pale.

"Yoongi," Jimin whispered. Yoongi closed his eyes and took a ragged breath. "Hey, you're gonna be okay, I promise."

"How do you know that?" Yoongi asked desperately, eyes shooting open. Jimin lost his breath at the way panic decorated Yoongi's features. His teeth tore at his bottom lip and he stared into Jimin's eyes like they were the handhold keeping him from falling down a cliff.

"Because I'm here, just for you."

Jimin leaned forward and gathered the boy into his arms, taking care to pick up all of his pieces. Yoongi's legs wrapped around his back and he buried his face in Jimin's shoulder. When they pulled away from each other, Jimin acted on impulse and took Yoongi's hand, kissing his palm before placing it over his heart. Yoongi closed his eyes while he focused on Jimin's heartbeat. Then Jimin pulled them into a standing position and led Yoongi into the back room. He sat Yoongi upon a stool and gave him a glass of water. He scrounged for a bandage and replaced his shirt with it before running into his apartment to get a new one. When he came back down, Yoongi was slumped on the table, head upon his arms. Jimin dropped a kiss on the top of his greenish-blue hair and returned to the store, worry eating at his heart. Whenever he had a chance, he checked on Yoongi, helping him clean the cuts and offering little forehead kisses and quick smiles and soft touches. Yoongi started to look less drawn and pale, slowly recovering from the incident. He returned to the piano, which seemed to calm him down a lot more. His tension seemed to melt away, and Jimin wondered if he was filling the piano with it; if the instrument would grow heavy with Yoongi's pain. Jimin noticed with a sad smile that Yoongi's hands still shook as he pressed the keys. As Jimin helped a man pick out anniversary flowers, he registered silence. After the man left, Jimin glanced over at Yoongi. The boy's head was resting on the keys, cradled by his arms, one inked and the other bandaged. He was fast asleep, mouth open, chest rising and falling slowly.

Jimin woke him up at seven. He blinked blearily and stumbled after Jimin to their apartments. Yoongi hesitated outside his, the action making Jimin stop and worriedly look at him. Yoongi stood in the middle of the hallway, skin and bandage almost glowing in the near-dark.

"W-will you stay with me tonight?" He asked, looking down and playing with the loose ends of his bandage. Jimin thought he looked like some kind of apparition.

"Of course," he said softly. "Anything for you."

And Jimin waited until Yoongi was safe and asleep in his arms before allowing himself to succumb to slumber.

hey wassup hello. im so bored rn im at some finance meeting with my parents kms.

ive been playing pokemon go so much @ god pls save my soul

i wrote this all at like 1:30 last night on my phone and i dont have autocorrect turned on so it was hella fun to edit!1!!1 also ive read through this a billion times and keep finding more mistakes so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯