Tomorrow│YM

[06] Thank You

"That was insane!" Taehyung howled as soon as he pulled out of Steve's driveway.

Jimin exhaled his agreement through his nose and leaned his head back, trying to calm his nerves. He hadn't realized it inside the house, but he was operating on pure adrenaline from the moment Taehyung called. Now, from the safety of the back seat of his best friend's Kia, he was practically vibrating. A hurricane roiled in his stomach.

Things could have gone so much worse.

"I'm sorry," he choked out, squeezing his eyes shut. "I don't know what came over me tonight. I was so stupid."

A quiet sound of protest came from his side. Jimin snapped his head towards the source, finding the hybrid frowning at him.

"Nah, not stupid. You were savage, if you ask me," Jungkook commented from the passenger seat. "Remind me never to get on your bad side, you were friggen scary."

Jimin kept his eyes trained on Yoongi, but he let a prideful smile form on his lips. "Oh Kookie, you are not capable of anything that could make me that mad."

"Facts," Taehyung agreed. "But seriously, I have never seen you like that, Chim. Not even when Professor Bin propositioned you..." he trailed off, scowl reflected in his rearview mirror.

Jimin grimaced at the unpleasant memory. "Yeah, well, I would have been in deep shit if you guys hadn't shown up. So thank you."

"Anytime, babe, I gotchu," Taehyung assured. "Even when you ignore my bang on advice."

Jimin sighed and his shoulders drooped. "You were right, I shouldn't have gone inside," he conceded. Yoongi's frown deepened, prompting Jimin to widen his eyes, recognizing accidental implication of his statement. "But I don't regret it at all!" he backtracked, not wanting to see the quiet hybrid upset. Panicking, he reached over to touch his hand in comfort and stopped abruptly when he saw the cat's ears flatten.

He gnawed on his lip and let his hand drop between them. They had a lot to figure out together, and there wasn't much more that could be resolved that night. He wasn't sure if the hybrid could even speak, though it was obvious he had no trouble with comprehension.

Him.

Jimin knew he was making a lot of assumptions, including Yoongi's gender identity and the extent to which he was being abused. His gut was telling him that he was right, but his only real source of validation was the fact that the hybrid was with him in the car, and not back in that god forsaken house.

Caught up in his own thoughts, he didn't notice Yoongi's ears straighten. Something soft touched the hand that was resting between them. Jimin looked down in confusion and felt his heart leap into his throat when he realized the cat's tail was now loosely wrapped around his bruising wrist.

Suddenly feeling uncharacteristically shy, Jimin looked away to conceal the heat that no doubt coloured his cheeks. Not wanting to draw too much attention to the sweet gesture, he decided to lighten the mood.

"Aren't you supposed to be tending bar right now, Tae?" he asked. "Joon's gunna be pissed if you bailed."

"Ah, luckily Jin was there when I got your text," Taehyung replied with a chuckle. "He insisted I left right away and took backup." He nodded his head towards Jungkook.

"Oh shit, whose manning the door, Kook?" Jimin asked, realizing he hadn't even questioned the presence of the young bouncer. He was blinded by the sheer gratitude he felt that Jungkook had shown up in all his muscled glory, he forgot to wonder why he was there at all.

"The OG himself," Jungkook smirked. "He put on the uniform and everything."

Jimin whimpered involuntarily at the thought of Namjoon's chest in a form fitting t-shirt. "Nooo," he mewled, "I'm missing Daddy back in action?!"

Jungkook huffed an indignant snort. "You know it makes him uncomfortable when you call him that..." he sighed, twisting around his headrest to look disapprovingly at Jimin. For a split second his gaze lingered between the two entangled occupants.

"Jinnie doesn't care so it's fine," Jimin simpered, placing his feet on the back of Jungkook's seat. "Besides, it's not harassment when you do it to your boss," he deadpanned, pretending to examine his cuticles.

"I don't think that's how it works," Jungkook groaned, turning back around in defeat.

Jimin shrugged with a grin, ignoring the way his skin prickled under the soft fur that continued to caress his wound. He caught a glimpse of the cat looking his way with his brow raised in subtle amusement, but he pretended not to notice.

Taehyung parked the car outside Jimin's building and turned to face him, looking serious. "Are you guys alright if we drop you off? Do you need anything? Should we walk you-"

"We're good, Tae. You've done enough tonight," Jimin assured. "You should get back to mom and dad before they burn the club down," he joked. "Thank you again for saving my impulsive ass. You too, Kookie."

They both mumbled sheepishly, unable to accept anymore praise. Jimin wished them goodnight, tapping the hood of the car as Taehyung drove off. He lead Yoongi to his third floor apartment.

"I'm sorry, it's a bit of a hike with the elevator broken," Jimin apologized, closing the door behind them. "Why don't you take a shower while I set you up on the couch - no, wait - you should take the bed, and I'll take the couch," Jimin rambled as he skittered through the home, collecting various items he deemed necessary. "I can lend you some sweats for now and then we can go get you clothes in the morning. There's a thrift store down the road that has cute vintage stuff..." Jimin raised his voice as he entered the bedroom. He emerged with a set of clothing and set them on the bathroom counter. "Oh! I'll grab you a pair of scissors so you can cut a hole for your tail - here we go - okay, I just need to get you a clean towel - sorry I haven't done any laundry for awhile but I think I've got something up here-"

"Jimin?"

"Hmm?" Jimin replied as he balanced on his tippy-toes, pulling a towel off the top shelf of the linen closet. He froze, the significance of the moment dawning on him. Slowly he lowered his heels to the ground and turned to face the hybrid.

The hybrid who was not, in fact, mute.

"Thank you." Yoongi murmured, looking at his feet. His voice was low and soft, and Jimin didn't want him to ever stop talking. Unfortunately for the human, Yoongi appeared to be a cat of few words.

"You're welcome, Yoongi."