Healer

Liar, Liar

He could sense Yoongi's disappointment. The older man let go of his shoulder, stepping away, and Jimin looked up, into those angry brown eyes. A shudder ran through him. Would Yoongi--?

"Alright," Yoongi said, "Come on. Jin's waiting."

Jimin followed him down the stairs, gritting his teeth at the jarring pain that met his feet at every step. His legs throbbed, but he forced himself to keep up the awkward pace, determined not to let Yoongi see. He could deal with it on his own. He didn't need them to heal him, to come close to him--

A memory of warmth stole through his mind, nearly blinding him with tears. He felt hands on the back of his neck, massaging it, sending relief flooding through him--

No, he thought. It's not fair. I won't let them in again. I can't do it. I can't.

"You'll never be anything but his sex slave."

"There you are!" Jin cried, embracing him. "I'm sorry, I should have warned you about--"

"He was up on the terrace," Yoongi snapped, "Don't apologize."

Jin frowned, stepping away. Jimin shook himself, trying to dislodge the remnants of the memory. What was wrong with him? He couldn't let them see it. He couldn't relax. It wasn't right.

A prickle raced up his back. He sat down at the table, rubbing his face with both hands and subtly trying to stretch them out. Yoongi gave him a sharp look, but made no comment. Jimin's ears flamed as Jin set his plate in front of him. It's not fair, he thought. How can you always tell?

Stop watching me already.

The kitchen was quiet, filled with mid-afternoon light. Yoongi didn't bother to sit down, walking straight through the door to the backyard and slamming it behind him. Jin gave the door a worried look and sat down, sighing and running his hands through his hair.

Jimin rubbed the knuckles of one hand, then shook them out, carefully picking up his chopsticks. Jin seemed zoned out, unaware of what was happening. Jimin finished half of his food before the eldest shook himself, turning to him.

"Have you seen Namjoon?"

Jimin shook his head, setting down his chopsticks. Jin sighed, slumping onto the table, and closed his eyes.

"Okay," he said softly. "I just... Yoongi's been hoping to heal your throat, and we need him to gauge your reactions--are you okay?"

Jimin swallowed hard, nodding. His hands twitched as he resisted the urge to run a hand over his throat, which had begun to prickle. His heart began to pound.

"Pity you lost your voice. I guess... no one will hear you scream, now?"

Jin sighed, standing, and shook himself, smiling softly at Jimin. "It's okay," he said, "Yoongi would never do it without Joon there. He knows better."

Jimin looked down at his food, shoulders slumping. Jin patted his shoulder gently and left, closing the kitchen door behind him.

Jimin's stomach writhed. He looked at his food, swallowing hard, and felt a small ball of fur press itself against his leg. He looked down, and his eyes met those of his most willing accomplice.

Taking a deep breath, he picked up the last pieces of meat on his plate. Then, slowly, he fed everything else to Yeontan. 

In my defense, the title is true.

Sometimes I feel like I pick chapter titles based on my opinion of the actions inside. If you look at the table of contents in my books you can usually tell which ones those were. 

I said it once and I'll say it again: I do not necessarily vouch for the actions of any of my characters, even the protagonists. Nine times out of ten I think the protagonist is stupider than I am, and that's saying something. I have no social IQ. 0_0