better there than here | ᴶᴴˢ × ᴹᵞᴳ

XXI

Jimin stared down into Hoseok's face as the latter slowly closed his eyes again and then his body became incredibly heavy. For a moment Jimin had no idea what he was supposed to do. It would have been a good idea to call for the others' help, but at that moment he didn't think of it. All that mattered in that moment was Hoseok and the way his body turned limp in Jimin's arms. Jimin tried his best to keep Hoseok standing even though he knew he wouldn't be able to keep him up for that long. He was strong, of course, but, as illogic as it was, a body of a person that was unconscious was infinitely heavier than one of a conscious person's. Jimin felt his grip loosening on Hoseok's body and then his hyung already slipped from his hands. Jimin tried to keep him standing, but he couldn't. Hoseok was about to fall to his knees and all Jimin could think of in that moment was to go down with Hoseok, but to make sure the elder wouldn't hit his head.

Jimin crouched down in an instant and indeed managed to somehow catch Hoseok's body and then he collapsed into Jimin's arms. Jimin wrapped his arms around Hoseok's shoulders, pulling him close as he looked down into the elder's face. He knew Hoseok's body would hurt later when he'd wake up again, but at that moment Jimin was just glad that he managed to keep Hoseok's head from hitting the wall. With Hoseok in his arms he felt so terribly useless, he had no idea what he was supposed to do, had no idea how he could help the older or what even happened to him.

Some weird kind of feeling told him that maybe the amount of information had been too much for Hoseok. The feeling dug even deeper in Jimin's mind as he remembered that maybe Hoseok simply gave up. The thought was gruesome, and he just wished that the older hadn't succumbed to the darkness and the pain within him. He knew he wouldn't stand the pain he would feel if he would ever see the darkness in his hyung's eyes again. Of course, it had never been gone, but at least Jimin didn't have to see it anymore as Hoseok simply banned it into the very back of his head, hoping it wouldn't outrun him. As egoistic as it might sound, at first Jimin had been relieved he didn't have to suffer from Hoseok's darkness anymore, but as time passed by Jimin had to realize that keeping the darkness bottled up somewhere deep inside would make things only worse. Maybe not in the beginning, but he was aware that the end would be so much worse.

He leaned his forehead against Hoseok's head, hoping the older would wake up, but he didn't, and Jimin felt panic welling up inside him and flooding his whole body. He suddenly felt cold and he was so damn afraid.
"Jungkook!" he called as he felt himself starting to shake. His call was loud enough to make the remaining members in the kitchen startle in shock. Jungkook was the first one to react as he was scared something had happened to Jimin. He passed his hyungs and hurried out of the kitchen just to find Jimin sitting on the ground, tears streaming down his cheeks with an unconscious Hoseok in his hands. For a moment Jungkook stood there like a block of ice, frozen in time as his mind tried to progress the picture in front of him. Only as Namjoon arrived beside him he was able to shake off his state of pure shock and hurried over to Jimin and Hoseok. He let himself fall down onto his knees, looking at Jimin as the latter kissed the top of Hoseok's head.
"What happened!?" Jungkook and Namjoon asked at the same time. Jungkook reached over to Hoseok and put a hand on his cheeks, caressing it, completely terrified as he was so afraid for his once best friend.
"Hoseok!" he heard Seokjin say in shock and a gasp from Taehyung. Suddenly somebody crouched down right beside them and it didn't take Jungkook long to realize it was Yoongi.

Yoongi felt his heart clenching at the sight of Hoseok in Jimin's arms. It was obvious that Hoseok was unconscious, though Yoongi's mind immediately started overthinking and telling him that Hoseok looked so lifeless, dead. Yoongi panicked at his own thoughts and he wrapped his arms around Hoseok's waist, pulling him out of Jimin's grasp, causing the younger to whine at the sudden loss. Though Jimin didn't fight to pull Hoseok back as he knew Yoongi was probably the one taking it all the worst, as he had been the one constantly overthinking everything ever since Hoseok had returned from the hospital. Jungkook leaned over and pulled Jimin into his side as Jimin started sobbing heavily. Suddenly everyone was around them, looking at Hoseok in worry. Nobody knew what to do as they were all still in shock.