Apocalypse | BTS

Chapter 23

"Jungkook?"
"Hey, Jungkook."
"Jungkook-ahhhh..."
The raven-haired stirred awake as he heard his name being uttered by a raspy and low voice. His eyes flickered open and he allowed them to adjust to the lack of light, almost having a heart attack as he saw Taehyung leaning over him from on the sofa. It was almost pitch black now, and everybody was sleeping except for Hoseok who was still driving. Leanne hadn't been true to her word, and she had eventually let the fatigue get to her, curling up on the passenger seat and dozing off.

"Taehyung? Oh my God, you're awake!" Jungkook whisper-shouted, getting up as quick as he could without making much noise and sitting on the sofa next to Taehyung.
"Woah, why do you look so worried about me? I've only known you for a day." Taehyung chuckled, a hoarse cough attacking his lungs a few seconds later. His voice was rough due to lack of use, and he looked exhausted as he sent Jungkook a confused look.
"You've only known me for a day. But I've known you for three." Jungkook remarked, and Taehyung's eyes widened.
"I was out for two days? Shit." He mumbled, absentmindedly placing a hand where his healing spike wound was.

"You're not in pain, are you?" Jungkook asked, and Taehyung groaned as his body ached terribly from days of inactivity.
"The only thing that hurts right now is my head." He mumbled, Jungkook chuckling silently and smiling as Taehyung stared back at him.
"It's good to have you back Taehyung." Jungkook said honestly, and Taehyung failed to stop a smile from tugging the corners of his lips upwards.
"It's good to be back. Thanks for saving my life twice, may I add." He chuckled sheepishly, and Jungkook just shrugged.

"It was all a team effort, but I'd save you a third time if I had to. Let's just hope that I won't have to." He said, and Taehyung blushed slightly and looked down at his lap as he laughed in embarrassment. Taehyung started coughing loudly again, the younger patting his back as his chest burned due to his body getting used to having more oxygen available to his muscles. Being in a coma-like state does appear to have its side-effects apparently.
"Well, you never know." He added afterwards, Jungkook shaking his head and laughing quietly along with him.

Jungkook noticed Taehyung staring at the back of the RV, eyes wide, and tilted his head towards him.
"What is it?" He asked, and Taehyung turned back to him and rolled his eyes.
"Oh, I don't know. Just the fact that there's two complete strangers sleeping in the back of the van." He said sarcastically, and Jungkook sighed as Taehyung awaited an explanation.
"Believe me, you've missed a lot these past two days." He mumbled, Taehyung frowning as he studied the younger's worried expression.

"Sounds like it must have been pretty bad, so I'll ask about it tomorrow. Also, I uh... I'm sorry for not telling you guys that I had been infected. It happened when my squad got attacked by the cluster, b-but after you guys rescued me I didn't want to be a burden. I knew you were low on sanberries too, so I wouldn't have wanted you to waste any on me. I'm sorry about that. I guess I kinda just accepted my fate." Taehyung explained, biting his lip and looking down as Jungkook's eyes widened.

"Taehyung why would you think that? You're part of our squad now, which means that we all care for each other equally, and there is no one undeserving of help no matter how long you've been here. You really scared me the other day." Jungkook confessed, Taehyung feeling immediately guilty as he realised how much of an impact he'd created by not telling them in the first place.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. You shouldn't worry about me anyway, it's not worth it." He said, and Jungkook glared at him and pursed his lips into a thin line.

"Well tough. As squad leader, I'm gonna worry. I don't care if I'm younger than you or the others, I just care about protecting you guys and putting you first." He said adamantly, and Taehyung couldn't help but smile slightly at the younger's determination. Jungkook could be a cold person, but his caring side would always show through, and Taehyung found that somewhat endearing.
"Is that so? I see. That's why you're the one sleeping on the floor while the others and myself have mattresses, chairs and cushions. Am I correct?" Taehyung said in a low voice with a single raised eyebrow, and Jungkook shrugged. It kinda scared him how easily Taehyung was able to read him after so short a time.

"I'm comfortable enough." He mumbled, but Taehyung shook his head.
"Imma call bullshit on that. Here, I'll move up and you can lay on the sofa." Taehyung said, smirking as he could see that their 'big powerful leader' got slightly flustered.
"W-with you?" Jungkook stammered in confusion, and Taehyung sighed and rolled his eyes.

"No, with Jesus... what do you think?? I won't make you sleep on the floor if I've been practically asleep for two days straight with you looking after me. I would happily swap places with you, but my body doesn't have the ability to move right now." Taehyung laughed, holding open the blanket so that Jungkook could get under it. The younger crawled onto the sofa beside Taehyung, his back facing him as the brunette draped the blanket over the two of them.
"Comfy?"
"Yeah, thank you." Jungkook replied, feeling glad that Taehyung couldn't see his shy smile.

"I can tell that you've had a long day, so I'm sorry for waking you." Taehyung whispered lowly, and Jungkook shook his head, pulling the blanket over his front.
"It's fine, I'm glad you're okay. Goodnight." Jungkook yawned, Taehyung smiling and rolling his eyes once more.
"Night."

Jungkook woke up early the next morning to soft voices and murmurs filling the RV. Taehyung was still asleep, and Jungkook had completely forgotten what had happened that night until he felt a weight over his body and a heat on his back. His eyes widened as he realised Taehyung had put his arm over him in his sleep, and a warm colour rose to his cheeks as he quickly slipped from the sofa and over to Jimin who was talking and planning stuff with Hoseok and Yoongi, Taehyung still sleeping. Leanne had taken over driving, and was chatting happily with Yuri who's common shyness seemed to fade around the other girl.

"Afternoon." Hoseok chirped, and Jungkook's eyes widened as he took a seat on the floor next to them, watching as Hobi played happily with Kwan.
"Afternoon?! Why didn't you wake me up?" He groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"You looked comfortable." Jimin said with a smirk and a shrug, causing Jungkook to sigh and put his face in his hands.
"Taehyung woke up last night." He explained, Yoongi and Hoseok looking up at him with wide eyes.
"Really? That's great!" Hobi said enthusiastically, with Yoongi nodding alongside him as Jungkook agreed.

"Yeah, it is. On another note, how are you Yoongi?" Jungkook asked, the mint-haired male shrugging as the attention was turned to him.
"Honestly, I feel exhausted. My arm is sore but overall I'm fine." He replied quietly, Hoseok giving him a reassuring smile as Yoongi clearly avoided eye contact.
"But from now on, Kwan is not leaving my side." Yoongi added adamantly, Jungkook nodding towards him.

"Sure, that's fine. Also, if you feel like you need to rest rather than get involved today that's okay too. Taehyung is gonna be out of action for at least today anyway." He said, Yoongi nodding gratefully to his offer.
"So, what have you been discussing then?" Jungkook asked curiously, looking down at a new map that Yoongi had sketched out.
"These guys have filled me in on your plans, so we're trying to sort out what we're gonna do once we find the scientists and where we may potentially go." Jimin replied, Jungkook nodding and crossing his legs as his eyes drifted over the thin parchment.

"Leanne said it won't be long until we arrive, and the scientists are due to arrive late tonight, so we have plenty of time to rest and prepare if needed." Hoseok said, Jungkook giving a thumbs up to their current plan.

"Next stop, East Camp."