iris

[43] tension

Jungkook spent most of his day peacefully resting in the comforting embrace of another who was buried in his own dreamland. The fatigue had not lifted, and Taehyung was spending majority of the time asleep. With his own energy that seemed to waver every passing second, Jungkook would lay and watch him with full intensity, craving to gaze into those mesmerising eyes.

He was brought from his day dreaming when he heard the front door creak open and footsteps began to echo throughout the house. Quiet voices simmered that he couldn't make out. The strain of listening brought a pain to his temples, giving up as he rested his head back into the crook of Taehyung's neck. Subconsciously Jungkook pinched his earlobe and fiddled with the loop of his earring. The boy, knocked out cold by his pain meds, didn't even budge. A soft knock on his bedroom door tore him from the absent-minded fidgeting.

"Come in," he croaked out, trying to keep his voice soft as to not wake a cute sleeping Taehyung.

"Jungkookie, you're awake," Hoseok commented when he entered, smiling and taking a mental note on how cute the two looked cuddling together. "How has it been?" It was quite a difficult question for the boy to answer with the mixed feelings inside his heart. Fear of being pushed away was gaslighting his own feelings towards the one he cared so deeply for. Unable to answer, Jungkook only shrugged, lifting himself from Taehyung and creating a distance between them.

"Okay..." the response was not one Hoseok expected and he frowned upon seeing the uncertainty in his brother's actions. Stepping closer he held out his arms and waited for the younger to crawl into them. Instead Jungkook basically plunged himself toward his brother, wrapping his arms tightly around his brother's chest. "I don't want to be here," he admitted quietly, requesting subtly for his brother to carry him.

"That's okay, you can come greet our guest for the night." Smiling softly, Hoseok began to carry him out of the room like he'd used to do when the boy was younger. It had never really struck him until recently that he had basically been his brother's parent. He'd grown up in such inconsistent and volatile environments which meant that he'd never truly connected with any of those that fostered them throughout both of their childhoods. Hoseok was the exception to his disconnections. He had always been their to dry Jungkook's tears, or feed him soup when he was sick, or to make him laugh when he was sad. It had always been that way, ever since the day Hoseok had held Jungkook who cried himself to sleep, after witnessing what their mother had done to him.

"I love you so much," Hoseok quietly whispered, the confession never feeling out of place. He would never stop telling the boy how deserving of love he truly was. They would both be nearly 90 years old and Hoseok would still find a way to prove the love that should surround Jungkook.

"I love you too, Hoseokie," Jungkook replied warmly, burying his head into his brother's shoulder as he inhaled deeply. "Thank you."

"God you are so cute!" He felt his shoulders tense up and jaw tighten the moment the familiar voice spoke up from the front lounge. Shifting his head around, he began to stare guiltily at their new guest.

"Why is he here?" Jungkook hissed, half panicking and half just being stubborn.

"Well, Jin has had a new housemate, so he needs to find Jimin a place to stay...."

"He is not staying here!" Jungkook whined, turning away and shuddering as his mind thought of what the orange haired boy must be thinking in his head.

"Don't be rude, he won't be staying here long. It's just til he finds a place to stay. You're the reason he's even here at all." Hoseok scolded him gently, trying to be stern but not cold as he let his brother drop down to the couch. Jungkook crossed his arms the moment he hit the cushions, eyes glancing up at Jimin who was still standing awkwardly in the hallway with his bags. "I am going to get you both something to eat, be nice."

"No! Don't leave me with him!" He sent the irritant younger a glare, then smirked.

"If you continue to be so stubborn, I will make him share a bed with you." Jungkook's face turned a cherry red as he shook it quickly. "That's what I thought," Hoseok huffed before exiting toward the kitchen to get his guest and brother something to eat.

The two turned to glance at eachother, both stuck inside their heads as they seemed to challenge who would make the first move.

Jungkook felt utter shame as his eyes stayed glued to the splint that was now decorated on Jimin's wrist. Though his mind did not remember the actions, the photos that had been glued to his locker filled in the gaps with catastrophised details and horrors of what exactly he had done.

Jimin stared at the fifteen year old with his own guilt, unable to separate the desperation of a boy who had cried into his arms from the one now curled up on the couch seeming to glare daggers into him. Was Jungkook still mad that he'd left?

"I'm sorry," they both blurted in unison,  heads moving in sync as they shot them up to stare at each other. There was a pause,

"For what?" Jungkook asked with a quiver in his tone. He knew the reason he had to apologise, it was coloured in sharpies and names of all Jimin's friends at his new school.

"For being an ass to you at school. I should have told you why Taehyung had stopped coming to school. I knew he was in a bad place, but I kept that from you," Jimin hesitated, fingers reaching up to squeeze the prominent scar on his arm. The graze from an uncontrolled fight between two best friends. "Taehyung deserved to know more than anyone that I was leaving, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him until it was so late. He seemed so happy whenever we were together and I was afraid if I told him, he'd hate me."

Jungkook nodded slowly, eyes trained on that scar that looked like it had come from being shoved to a gravel road. The way Jimin's fingers lingered, it was obvious that he had been kept up by the way he'd dealt with his departure. The belief that he'd ruined the most important friendship he had.

"You could try to speak to him. He's asleep right now, but he has to wake up and have his medication either way." Jungkook didn't wait for an answer,  instead getting up and hobbling towards the room he had only recently left. "He doesn't know how to feel towards you right now." Checking scarcely over his shoulder, he saw Jimin trailing slowly behind, feet scuffling along the ground in an attempt to drag out the time it took for him to get there.

"Him and me both," Jimin mumbled, nodding his head in thanks as Jungkook held the door open for him to enter. The boy of topic was laid out on Jungkook's bed, fingers curled around the blankets as he twitched in his sleep, reliving a past he wanted to forget.

"Taehyungie," Jungkook called softly, approaching and shaking his arm lightly to pull him from the memory. When the touch didn't seem to reach him, Jungkook switched to a different tactic: blowing in his ear. That woke him up quite quickly. He shot up and nearly bashed his head against the one who'd woken him.

"What the fuck was that?!" Jungkook snorted at Taehyung's reaction, patting the boy's bed hair back down as he smiled.

"There is someone here to see you." Taehyung's once irritated expression turned to a confused one, as his mouth formed a thin line that showed little emotion. But his eyes showed the same mixture of red and blue.

"Who in hell would want to see me?"

"I would." It had never occurred to Taehyung just how quickly his emotions could change. Within a fraction of a second, a wave of conflicting emotions tried to take over all at once. He grabbed his head and groaned into his hands as the effort to keep himself from passing out grew difficult. Though he was pulled back when he felt soothing hands cup his cheeks, and soft whispers of reassurance,

"It's okay, I can tell him to leave if you like? Just don't faint on me." He shook his head with little confidence, gripping Jungkook's wrist tighter and holding his soft fingers against his cheeks to feel an anchor to the world around him. As he inhaled and exhaled slowly, he tried to focus on nothing but that rhythm of breathing. After what felt like forever he could breathe normally again, able to loosen his tight hold on Jungkook's wrists and pull himself back to his body.

Slowly he turned his head so his cheek rested on the younger boy's shoulder, eyes landing on his orange haired friend standing awkwardly at the door. Jimin realised his presence had been acknowledged and lifted his head so he could give a small and nervous smile.

"It's good to see you, Tae."
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