"What do the flowers mean?" Those words had made his heart swell until he could practically feel it bursting from his chest. And the question had been born of that feeling, wanting to know all of the subtle little secrets Jungkook held for him.
"These -" There was a bowl in his hands, filled with streaming broth and he quickly realized that it was Galbitang, one of his very favorite soups. The heavy wooden bowl was placed before him on the low table, before those now free fingers pointed at the long blue flowers intermingling with the rest. "- are blue salvia. They represent healing." A return trip provided him with chopsticks, the luxurious sets that he had spent an embarrassing amount of money on, and the little ceramic spoons he used for eating soups. "This one is is Jasmine. It means modesty, love and sensuality."
"And these -" A second bowl had joined the first, and he shifted just a little, swinging his legs around to form enough space for them to sit comfortably. Stayed near enough to the middle so perhaps they would remain close. Watched as two large mugs filled with fragrant green tea completed the spread, and Jungkook lowered himself onto the remaining space, purposefully sitting so close that their leg's were pressed against one another. Bare, soft, smooth skin against the almost silky material of the long shorts he wore. "- are Lilacs."
"What do they mean?" Had was searching desperately back through his memory banks. Trying to recall all of the flowers that Jungkook had given him before. Trying to remember what each of them had meant. Like they all had some hidden connection he had never realized before.
Tiger Lillie's. Please love me.
White Wild Orchids. That he was sorry.
Chrysanthemum. The missing flower. White, that meant truth. And yellow, that meant their had been slighted. Maybe those were meant to be missing from the equation. Maybe fate had played a part in that particular coincidence.
Camellia. White for his adorableness. Pink that represented Jungkook's longing. And red, for the flame he had created within his heart.
Blue Salvia. For healing.
Jasmine. For modesty, love and sensuality.
"That you are my first and only love." Taehyung's words played over and over within his mind and inside of his heart. About how he was completely certain that there was no one else on the entire earth that Jungkook loved.
And he realized it then. Realized the connection. The progression.
Jungkook wanted him to fall for him. That much had always been entirely clear. Wanted him to fall so desperately and so completely that he would do absolutely anything for him. And maybe the second set was never meant to occur. Hadn't been part of the original plan. An improvisation that hadn't been accounted for. So he took it out of the equation and focused on everything else.
Jungkook had told him that their truth was all that mattered. That he belonged to Jungkook and that the other belonged to him. That was the definition of their relationship. There was no need to put some label upon it. And maybe those intended flowers had been an early sign of that. Of the truth they carried around buried so deeply inside of them. Of the love - of his love that was constantly being wronged, being slighted.
His adorableness, as it had been called, was like a pull. A hook that had been unknowingly sunk into his prey and used to keep tugging him back in. And Jungkook longed for it. Jungkook was the one who longed for him. Who wanted someone who would pull him back in. Who would want him enough to actually work too keep him. Who wouldn't constantly just so willingly give up at the first opportunity. And the flame that had been created in his heart was the first seeds of love that had been planted so deep, watered with the tears that Seokjin had shed for them.
Healing. Those words spoken under the bright rays of sun light. No longer a secret but brought out into the open. Their truth slowly transforming into something else. Modesty, for the way he would only allow himself to be seen by that one special person. For the way he had only ever given himself, wholly and completely, to the only one who had ever wanted it. Love, for the emotions that were constantly sparking between them, beautiful and pure. Passion, for the way they wanted each other. For the way they could never seem to get enough. How it constantly seemed like they were so incredibly hungry for one another that nothing else would ever be capable of filling that space. Like they would only be satisfied when they had consumed each other completely.
Jungkook had always been confusing. Like this enigma he was never meant to understand. Sometimes he would get a tiny little piece of the puzzle. A small hint that only ever showed a mere corner of the bigger picture. Even now, he knew there was so much still being hidden away, so much that was being kept from his view.
But he understood a little better now. Realized that Jungkook didn't always speak in words. That he spoke in actions. Spoke through the language of flowers, and realized that all of them were a message. All of them carried a meaning that lead to the exact same place.
Love.
That he was Jungkook's first and only love. The only thing that had ever made him feel that emotion before.
And Jungkook was his. Sure he had felt it before. Loved his mother and his father and his sister and brother. Loved Yoongi and Taehyung and Hoseok. But it wasn't the same. Didn't even come close to the absolute wealth of emotion that he felt towards this one man. This one other human life who had taken over him so completely he didn't know where one of them ended and the other began.
Jungkook was like an infection. He had felt it set in and begin to eat away at him within the first moment. His love was an infection.
And his was the cure. They were two pieces of the same whole who depended on each other to survive.
"They're beautiful." Slowly, his fingertips played over the dark purple hues of the soft petals, sighing at the sensation of silk against his skin.
"Not as beautiful as you." Would he ever hear those words and not instantly think that they were a lie? He never felt beautiful. Never felt like he was worthy of that much praise. But Jungkook made him feel that way. Like he was beautiful. Like he was worthy.
"Thank you." It was a whisper, and he leaned over as he spoke, pressing his still swollen and tender lips against Jungkook's, so gentle and slow and mindful of the wound he carried. Let his forehead rest against the other's for the span of a heartbeat, and then another. "I love you."
He had said it first. For the very first time, he had spoken those words first.
"I love you too." It sounded so different. Choked and quiet and rough. Like Jungkook couldn't entirely believe that it was real.
But it was. Those words were real.
They were real.
...
Author's Note: Right up until I started writing Jungkook's part (Infection), I really didn't know if I was going to do a good ending for this one of not. And honestly, even once I decided, I've still constantly thought about what the other ending would be.
One of the ones I thought of was Seokjin basically realizing that he doesn't love Jungkook as much as he thought he did. Him meeting someone else and realizing that their relationship was just an unhealthy mess. I decided against it because I figured if I'm going to take these two down, they're going to go down together.
