Dialogue Prompt:

Dialogue prompt:

Character A: I would never put bruises on your knees like he does, sweetheart.

Character B, with a confused look on his or her face: I work in a dog kennel, these bruises aren’t for anybody!

Character A stares in disbelief before shuffling off awkwardly.

We’re Dripping In It

Chapter Interlude: Epiphany

Jin watched as his younger brother shuffled to the elevator, blushing a bright red and stuffing something into his pocket that Yoongi handed him after Namjoon had headed into his office.

“Do I even want to know?” He asked, looking at Yoongi cackling in his seat and Taehyung smiling fondly at his brother’s retreating back.

Yoongi shrugged as he turned his eyes to Jin, the scar over his right eye had healed significantly since the last time Jin had seen him but it still had a faint redness to it.

“If Jungkook-ah wants to share that with you, that’s his business.” Yoongi drawls as he takes a sip of his coffee. “You have something you want to say, Seokjin?”

Jin sighs and lounges himself across his chair, being mindful of his cast as he leans his arm over the back of the chair next to him. “I do not miss your mind reading skills.”

“It’s served me well in taking care of your brother,” Yoongi dismisses, a hard look in his eye as Jin flinches. “Teenagers can be very volatile at times, I’m just glad he never learned to properly throw a knife at that time.”

“He never threw any knives,” Taehyung counters, resting a hand on the back of Yoongi’s neck. “It was a chair.”

“When did the pair of you get married? When I left you two were still dancing around each other like a couple of teenagers.” Jin asks, glancing down at the pairs’ matching silver wedding rings.

“About nine months after you left,” Yoongi answers with a shrug. “Don’t try and change the subject, Seokjin. What did you want to tell us?”

“Should I even bother telling you? You probably already know,” Jin scoffed, rolling his eyes. “And just call me Jin, I’m getting tired of hearing my full name around here.”

Yoongi blinks at him, the only outward sign of surprise he shows. “I think I am going to need you to tell me, it seems my mind reading skills have lessened with you since you left.”

Jin smirks, but then looks at the couple seriously, “Thank you for taking care of my little brother when I wasn’t there. I don’t want to even think about what would’ve happened to him if he hadn’t shown up on your doorstep. I had no idea that our mother had thrown him out while I was working, or that he had been on the streets for three weeks.”

“Why weren’t you there Seokjin? Why was he alone?” Taehyung asks softly, clenching his fist on the table.

“I was working to feed him and put him through school, our mother was a drug addict and was draining all our money from the retirement funds.” Jin answered, watching as Taehyung’s fist relaxed at his words. “When my brother was kicked out, I was in Australia on a mission for the Red Velvet Ring. I didn’t hear that he had left until I got back five weeks later, I was cut off from all communication for that mission.”

Realization comes over both the men’s faces and they nod in understanding together.

“What’s you plan now, Jin?” Taehyung asks, tilting his head when Jin chuckles. “Does Kookie know about all that?”

Jin shakes his head, “No, but I’ll tell him. He deserves the truth. I’ll be speaking with Namjoon next, if he agrees then I’d like to stay. Under what capacity, I don’t know, but I’m staying wherever Jungkook wants to be.”

Yoongi nods and smiles, “That’s good to hear then, I hope you won’t be as much of a bastard with him around.”

Jin scoffed, rolling his eyes as he stood, “Trust me, I’ll still give you hell Yoongi. Only this time you’re subjecting yourself to it willingly.”

“I’m doing no such thing,” Yoongi contradicts with a sniff, ignoring his husband who cackles in delight next to him.

Jin chuckles fondly under his breath as he leaves the dining room, unwilling to admit that he’s missed the two bastards. He stands in front of Namjoon’s office and takes a deep breath before raising his fist to place a firm knock on the dark wood.

“Come in,” Namjoon calls, he raises his brow as Jin enters and sits down in one of the desk chairs. “Are you coming in here to lecture me? Cause I don’t…”

Jin raises a hand to stop him, “I’m not here to lecture you, or give you the shovel talk, or anything like that. I’m here to apologize.”

Namjoon blinks and leans back into his chair, “You’re going to… apologize. To me? For what?”

“For jumping to conclusions about you and my brother, I should have gotten all the facts before tossing accusations around. And I should have given you all the facts as well.” Jin explains, then takes a deep breath before giving Namjoon all the dirty details about his absence and the true source of funds for Jungkook.

Namjoon listens impassively, rubbing his mouth with his finger as he ponders over everything Jin tells him. “So the funds that the Stray Kids Gang stole were actually yours?”

Jin nods, “If you’re still willing, I’d like that money to be returned to Jungkook. It was supposed to be his in the first place.”

“Of course,” Namjoon nods, pulling a sheet of paper out of his desk and handing it to Jin. “I’ll be showing this to Jungkook, when I think he’s ready to know, but you deserve to see it. It’s everything that the Stray Kids Gang used your money for.”

Jin took the paper and skimmed over the list, not at all surprised by what lay on it. He looked back up at Namjoon, “Are you really going to show him this? Why are you making such an effort to include him?”

Namjoon shrugged, “Jungkook expressed his wish to join the Bulletproof Company and he wants me not to lie to him. When he completes his training, he’s not just going to be some lackey, he’s going to be my partner. I need to know what he can and can’t handle before I start trusting him to help me run all of this. I want to trust him but I’m not stupid, I know there’ll be things he won’t react well to, so I need to know before he’s in charge of anything.”

“You always were one to plan ahead,” Jin chuckles, crossing his arms over his chest. “Does Jungkook know that you’re testing him? Does he know that you want him to be your partner?”

Namjoon scratches the end of his nose as he shifts his eyes away from Jin’s knowing ones, “He knows that last bit.”

Jin clicks his tongue but lets the subject drop, “Now about that kidnapping stunt, how the hell did they get him? Have your men lost their touch? The Stray Kids are insignificant, they barely had control over the one block they had.”

Namjoon rolls his eyes, “I wasn’t having any of my men tracking Jungkook and I still don’t. I want him to trust me, I need to trust that he’ll tell me if he needs something to make him feel safe. I’m not going to go behind his back and do it for him.”

“How many mafia romance novels did you read before coming to that conclusion?” Jin teases, snorting when a blush colors Namjoon’s face. “That’s good to hear Namjoon, it’ll pay off in the end. I wasn’t lying when I said that Jungkook will be the best of us. I should have phrased it better, but I was angry. You know how I am when I’m clouded like that.”

“All to well, Seokjin.” Namjoon agrees, his face turning somber. “I still have flowers sent to Jang-ssi’s grave, I’ve been wondering how to approach Jungkook about seeing it. Or if he’d even want to know where his father is buried.”

“I’ll ask him, that’s more of family business.” Jin says, standing to his feet as Namjoon nods in understanding. “You can call me Jin, Namjoon. I think I’m going to be around for a while, so I’ll need a job too.”

Namjoon snorts at Jin’s retreating back, “I’ll let you know if I have something for you, Jin.”

“You do that,” Jin chuckles, waving a hand as he leaves the office and heads into the kitchen. He passes Jimin leaning against the counter as he starts washing the piles of dishes in the sink.

“Are you my babysitter for today?” Jin asks as Jimin slides up next to him and starts drying the dishes with a hand towel.

“Yep!” Jimin says cheerfully, setting the dry plate down on the counter and taking the next dripping one from Jin. “I’m skipping class today because Hobi-hyung needs to stop by the training camp.”

Jin hums, “Is Hoba still having trouble keeping the greenies in line?”

“Not when he’s there,” Jimin scoffs with an eye roll. “They’re mad annoying though when he’s not, I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with training any of them. I just get to beat them up when they step out of line.”

Jin chuckles as he rinses a coffee mug and starts scrubbing it. They do the dishes in silence for a few minutes, just handing the glassware between each other with the sounds of running water echoing through the kitchen.

“So, you and Hoba then,” Jin drawls, making Jimin snort which makes Jin laugh awkwardly. “Sorry, that was random. Should have started off better.”

“No! That was perfect!” Jimin cackles, his shoulders shaking with laughter. When his giggles die down he looks over at Jin, “I’m not quite sure what I’d classify Hobi-hyung and I at the moment, he kinda gave me a bit of a shock last night when he told me he’s into multiple partners.”

Jin hums in agreement, nodding his head. “Shocked me too, honestly. Did he get all flustered about it?”

Jimin grins devilishly, “Like a little virgin getting his first kiss.”

Jin snorts, “I don’t think there’s anything ‘virgin’ about that man.”

Jimin hums in agreement and starts moving to put the clean and dry dishes into their cupboards. Jin joins him after washing his hands at the sink.

“Are we going to have a discussion about how we’re both into the same man and that man wants to be with both of us?” Jimin asks, huffing when Jin shoos him to the side as he placed the mugs in the top shelf after he was unable to reach it.

“How exactly do you even have that discussion?” Jin asks, trying to hide his smirk at Jimin’s pout as he places the mugs on the shelf with ease.

Jimin shrugs and continues to hand him mugs, “No idea, never had to have one.”

“Then we’ll wait for Hoba to have it, he’ll probably know.” Jin says, shutting the cupboard door and turning to face Jimin. “He is the middle ground in this situation.”

Jimin hums and looks Jin up and down as he folds his hands behind his back, “So you aren’t the type like Hobi-hyung? You’ve never had multiple partners.”

Jin raises a brow at him and leans back against the counter as he crosses his arms over his chest, “Despite how pretty my face is, the answer to that would be no. I only had one steady girlfriend before my father was killed and after I left the Bulletproof Company I was too focused on helping my family eat every day to date.”

Jin quietly files away Jimin’s small flinch at the word ‘pretty’, it would be something to ask about later.

“Are we assuming too much then? About whether you’re even interested in a relationship with us?” Jimin asks, raising his brow at him.

Jin looks at him for a moment, “I’m not exactly opposed to it, who would say no to two handsome men wanting to be with you?”

Jimin smirks, “Your deflection game is on point Seokjin, but I’ll get the real answer from you soon enough.”

Jin rolled his eyes, a smile creeping up on his face. “So, what’s your suggestion for moving forward?”

Jimin hums, tapping his chin in thought, “We’ll take it slow, since you’re not absolutely against the idea of all three of us. We can take our time getting to know each other.”

Jin huffs and nods in agreement, “I guess my life wasn’t normal to begin with, why should my love life be?”

“That’s the spirit!” Jimin cheers, smacking Jin’s shoulder. “Come on, I heard you’re rusty on some training. Let’s go spar!”

Jin laughs and follows Jimin into the elevator, leaning against the wall inside as they descend down to the sparring floor. The smile on his face stays as Jimin chats happily next to him about all the different moves he’ll put him through. He could practically taste the sparing mat in his mouth as the numbers on the elevator countdown.

If this is the Ao3 Author’s writing curse I might just quit writing all together…… JK I’d go even crazier without being able to write

But here has been my week… so far

Monday: Woke up at 4AM because my dog had diarrhea in her crate then couldn’t go back to sleep because I had work

Tuesday: The washer and dryer at work was being a bitch, cause people don’t use it properly, and we almost couldn’t get all the work done because we didn’t have any dry rags

Wednesday (the start of my day!): My cat throws up at 2AM next to my face and on my phone, so I had to strip my bed and clean my phone so I could go back to sleep so that I wouldn’t be a complete zombie at work

I have no hope for the rest of the week, payday will be the only upside (even if the entire paycheck goes to bills)

We’re Dripping In It

Chapter 16: Still Life

Jungkook wakes up laying across Namjoon’s chest, his face buried into the man’s neck and his legs tucked between his. He groans as Namjoon rolls them over onto their sides but sighs happily when he feels Namjoon’s arms tighten around his body.

Jungkook blinks as some hairs tickle the tip of his nose, he puffs a breath to banish them away only for them to fall straight back onto his face. He huffs as he pulls his head back from Namjoon’s neck, finally free from the man’s fluffy hair as he lays his head against the pillow.

Jungkook sighs as his eyes come into focus on the sleeping face of his boyfriend. His dark hair sticks out in all directions and his lips forming a gentle pout in his sleep. Jungkook is utterly endeared by the sight, his eyes drifting from the mole that sits under his plush bottom lip, the one that rests near the hidden dimple in his right cheek, and his cute button nose.

“It’s rude to stare you know,” Namjoon murmurs, his voice impossibly deep from sleep, as his dragon-like eyes slowly blink open.

Jungkook hums running a hand through Namjoon’s hair trying to tame it a bit, “I think I’m allowed to stare, boyfriend privilege and all that.”

Namjoon hums, closing his eyes again as he leans into Jungkook’s gentle hand. “What time do you have class today?”

“I don’t even know what time it is right now,” Jungkook chuckles, placing a small kiss against the mole under Namjoon’s bottom lip. “I honestly don't even know what day it is.”

“It’s Wednesday, I think.” Namjoon murmurs, placing a returning kiss on the tip of Jungkook’s nose.

“Then I have a Pottery class at ten and a Mathematics class at three,” Jungkook answers, raising his head to look at the side table clock, it reads 8:30AM in a cool blue. “And it’s 8:30 now.”

“It’s time to get up then,” Namjoon sighs, turning out of Jungkook’s embrace onto his back, he stretches his arms over his head with a groan. “What good is being the most powerful man in Korea when you have to attend meetings at 9AM?”

Jungkook laughs gently as he sits up and stretches his arms above his head, “I don’t know, maybe you should do something about that.”

Namjoon hums in agreement as he steps out of the bed and makes his way inside his closet. “Do you want to stop at your apartment for some clothes, or borrow some of mine?”

Jungkook joins him inside the closest, taking in the rows of business clothes and shoes. “If you have any normal clothes, I’ll borrow those. I haven’t even been to my new apartment yet.”

“Yoongi-hyung told me that he set everything up for you last night,” Namjoon said, handing Jungkook a black t-shirt from the depths of his white button ups. He pulls off the loose t-shirt from his own body, tossing it into a nearby hamper, before pulling on a red button up over his shoulders. He doesn’t button it as he hands Jungkook some loose sweatpants.

Jungkook takes the borrowed clothes, tossing his worn ones into the hamper, while Namjoon pulls on a black pair of slacks. Namjoon starts looking through his ties, still not buttoning his shirt up as he hums in thought.

“Tie or no tie?” He asks, looking over at Jungkook as he’s pulling on the black t-shirt over his head.

“No tie,” Jungkook answers after his head pops out of the shirt, tugging his arms through the sleeves, he smirks at Namjoon’s flexing abs. “You gonna leave it open as well?”

Namjoon chuckles in amusement as he places a silver watch on his wrist, “I might, think it’ll convince the Red Velvet Ring to play ball with me this year?”

Jungkook frowned at the thought and shuffled over to button Namjoon’s shirt up himself. “Even if it did, no one else is allowed to see this. It’s mine now.”

Namjoon laughs in delight as Jungkook pats his chest once his shirt is completely buttoned, “I don’t think Seokjin should be worried about me being the possessive one in this relationship.”

“As long as you know,” Jungkook teases, sliding his hands around Namjoons waist as he looks up at him with a sly smile. Namjoon groans as Jungkook slides his hands down his lower back, down to cup his ass in both hands.

“Baby,” Namjoon moans, placing his hands on Jungkook’s shoulders. “We both have things to do this morning, we don’t have time for… that.”

Jungkook pouts playfully before releasing his hold on the man’s perk behind, “Why do you always have to be the responsible one?”

Namjoon places a kiss on his lips as an apology, “Sorry baby, someone has to be.”

Jungkook mutters under his breath as he follows Namjoon out of the closet and down into the kitchen.

Jimin groans dramatically as he flops down on the kitchen counter, holding his phone limply in his hand. The sound of his game playing echoes off the marble countertop. Jin rolls his eyes as he comes over to the sink to place a dirty cup inside before returning to the stove. The smells of food make Jungkook’s stomach grumble as Namjoon walks straight to the coffee maker.

“You guys trust my brother not to poison your food?” Jungkook asks as Hobi shuffles out of his way to open the fridge, he ‘ohs’ excitedly when he sees the rows of banana milk inside and grabs one with eager hands.

“Jin would never disgrace his cooking by poisoning it,” Hobi says with a chuckle, watching Jungkook sip on the yellow carton with vigor. “Back when Jin used to be with us, we had a dinner rotation. I always looked forward to his nights, he never put too much garlic in his cooking like Tae did.”

“That’s cause the bastard knew I was allergic to it,” Jin huffed, flipping a Pajeon in the pan in front of him. “I always had to order take out on the nights he cooked.”

Hobi chuckled at the memory as he moved to help Jin finish at the stove and carry plates to the dining room. They were just finishing the last of the Pajeon off the large center plate when Yoongi and Taehyung walk into the room.

“What’s on the agenda today?” Yoongi asked, taking his seat at Namjoon’s right and Jimin shuffled over to let Taehyung sit next to his husband.

“I have a meeting in,” Namjoon looked at his watch, “fifteen minutes with the Red Velvet Ring about their rivalry with the small company in Yongin. I need them to resolve their issues faster because their last trade of cotton was neary compromised before it reached us.”

Yoongi hummed, “You better wait until after the meeting to tell Irene that you’re a taken man now. She’ll cut it off before it even starts.”

Namjoon rolled his eyes and takes a sip of his coffee, “That woman could never take no for an answer.”

Jungkook listened to the conversation between his bites of the crunchy green onion pancake. He now had the sudden, unexplainable urge to go out and buy him and Namjoon couple rings.

“Ah Jungkook-ah,” Yoongi drawled, pulling Jungkook from his thoughts as he pulled a key out his pocket and slid it across the table. “Before I forget, here’s the key to your apartment. It’s been cleaned and all the personal items from your old apartment have been moved in. If there’s any furniture you need, just let me or Tae know, we’ll get it for you.”

“Hyung, you’ve already done so much for me.” Jungkook whined softly, taking the little silver key from the table and placed it in his pocket.

Yoongi shrugged as he fluffed his own blonde hair, “Never deny your hyung’s the opportunity to spoil you, Kook. We’ll just do it behind your back anyway but I’m sure you don’t want Tae’s design skills in your apartment.”

Taehyung pouted, “You don’t like my design choices, Yoons? I thought you loved that modern art piece I brought home last night.”

Yoongi sighed, “That’s not what I said, I did like that balloon, bobble, whatchamacallit thing that you brought home. It looked good on the coffee table, matched the white marble.”

“Like and love are not the same thing Yoongi. Last night you said you loved it, now this morning you say you like it. Which is it?” Taehyung demands, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks at his husband.

Yoongi purses his lips, “You were wearing that shirt I liked, of course I said I loved it.”

Taehyung continued to badger Yoongi on the art piece, unaware of the five other men slowly getting up and leaving the room. Namjoon placed a swift kiss on Jungkook’s cheek before heading for his office. Jungkook hummed happily to himself as he followed behind Jimin as they left the apartment for class.

“Are you still attending Hybe University hyung? I thought you found the guy you were looking for, wasn’t it my BioChem professor?” Jungkook asked as the elevator steadily descended.

“Oh him? No, he wasn’t the guy we’re looking for. He was too obvious and not connected to any companies. Just the run of the mill, ordinary serial killer.” Jimin answered, chuckling at Jungkook’s side-eye. “So, I’m still on mission at Hybe, you won’t be rid of me that quickly JK!”

“How do I know you’re not also coming to babysit me?” Jungkook asked, following Jimin inside the SUV before it merged into traffic towards the university.

Jimin looked over at him, “The only babysitting duty I’m on is with Seokjin, I have no orders from Namjoon to watch you like that.”

“Would you tell me if you did?” Jungkook asked, fiddling with the purple heart pin on his backpack strap. A gift his brother gave him that now held new meaning after what Hobi had told him.

“Of course,” Jimin scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I’d also tell Namjoonie-hyung to shove it, you don’t need babysitting like that. It would be a waste of time, he clearly hasn’t seen what you lift at the gym.”

Jungkook giggled as they pulled up to the campus entrance, Jimin pulled them to a stop just before they walked through the metal gates. Jungkook looked over at him curiously as Jimin leveled him a very serious look.

“I want you to know Jungkook, that you are my best friend first.” Jimin said, clutching Jungkook’s shoulders. “Even if there comes a time where I do need to be at your side to protect you, I’m not going to see you as incapable of defending yourself. We’ll fight side by side if it comes to that.”

Jungkook pulled Jimin into a tight hug, “Thank you hyung, that means a lot.”

Jimin chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Jungkook’s waist, patting his back. “Come on, we’ll be late for class.”

Jungkook received a message from Hobi to stop by Yoongi’s dance studio at D-Town when he wrapped up his classes for the day. He gave no other explanation, even with Jungook’s string of questions as to why his hyung wanted to see him there. So, Jungkook stepped into the dance studio after Jimin had dropped him off feeling very confused. Hobi was waiting for him and smiled as he looked around at the practice dummies that were now scattered around the wooden floor.

“Joonie told me that he’d like me to start training you,” Hobi greeted as Jungkook came over to him after setting his backpack down on the floor. He smiled softly at Jungkook’s hesitant nod, “Now that you know the truth about us, I can be completely honest with you. I’ve already been training you since you started taking my dance class at Hybe.”

“Eh, hyung I don’t think knowing how to pop and lock on the dancefloor counts as gang training.” Jungkook says cautiously, feeling relieved when Hobi chuckles at him.

“First, let me correct you on some terminology.” Hobi starts, pulling a dummy closer to them as he speaks. “Gangs are for the school grounds, we don’t use that term in the underground. The mafia is strictly reserved for the Russians and the Itialians, they’ve coined that word completely which basically means they own it. We’re a company or a crew, when you don’t know a company’s name always go with those terms.”

Jungkook nods in understanding as Hobi makes him start stretching before they get started. “Company or crew, got it.”

“Good and second, you may not have realized that many of the dance moves I teach will serve you well in a hand to hand fight. You’ve already demonstrated it when you fought Jin in the living room when we brought him back from Morocco.” Hobi continued, guiding Jungkook through a long stretch. “Dancing makes you incredibly aware of your body and its movements. Everytime Jin moved to strike you, you anticipated where he was going to hit and tensed that part of your body to lessen the blow.”

“I didn’t even realize I had done that,” Jungkook grunts as he bends over backwards and touches his hands to his toes, completely curving his back.

“I know, that’s why I’m going to make you aware of it now. That way you’ll be able to fully control your body by muscle memory, not luck.” Hobi explained, pulling him to his feet as he finished his pretzel stretch. “Your weight training and boxing classes are a given in what they teach you in defending yourself. I also think you and Jin mentioned that he would train you during your school years?”

Jungkook nodded as he stood, “Jin-hyung taught me some moves, but I’ve never used them on anyone besides him.”

“Apart from when the Stray Kids Gang picked you up, you probably haven’t come across anyone that you’ve had to.” Hobi assures him, guiding him to stand in front of the dummy. “I’m going to show you some techniques that I saw that night that you need improvement on, then you’re going to fight me.”

Jungkook gulped nervously and follows his hyung’s instructions carefully. He found himself very surprised how easily the movements came to him. Hobi guided him gently through the movements, much like he did when he was teaching a new choreography. Jungkook felt at ease with the familiarity.

“Good, you’re getting it!” Hobi praised as Jungkook aimed a well punch in the center of the dummy, making it topple to the ground. “I think you’re ready to try with me. Take the gloves off, we’ll just stick to the bandages for this.”

Jungkook pulled the black boxing gloves off his hands and tightened the boxing bandages around his knuckles and wrists. Off to the side, Hobi started wrapping his own knuckles and wrists in a red bandage with practiced hands.

“You don’t need to be worried about holding back with me Kookie,” Hobi assured him as they squared up in front of each other. “I only have two rules for this fight; don’t break my stereo and don’t break any bones.”

Jungkook nodded before dodging the first swipe Hobi threw at him, undercutting a punch to the man’s side in response. They danced around the room, exchanging punches and kicks at each other. Hobi talked the entire time as they fought; praising any well placed hits Jungkook made, correcting any blows that made contact too hard against Jungkook’s body, and constantly adjusting his fighting technique, forcing Jungkook to adjust right back.

Unlike his fight with Jin, Hobi left no openings for Jungkook to toss him around the room and place him in a choke hold. But Jungkook did notice that the man seemed to favor one leg of the other, keying into the weakness he struck. With one hard kick to the right knee, sending Hobi to the ground, he moved swiftly to wrap his arms around the man’s neck.

As soon as he squeezed tight around Hobi’s neck the man tapped out. Jungkook released him immediately and caught him before he fell to the ground.

“Good eye, Jungkook-ah,” Hobi panted, taking a gulp of the water that Jungkook handed him. “It’s going to take you time to notice weaknesses like that faster, but you did well in executing the take down.”

Jungkook panted as he sat down next to his hyung and took a big swig of his own water, his bangs hitting his forehead in a sweaty mess. “How much were you holding back, hyung?”

Hobi chuckled as he leaned back against his hands, “You held up pretty well, Kook. Most of my first time trainees couldn’t have lasted five minutes in a ring with me, much less get a hold of me. Yes, I was holding back but if you had come to me as a trainee I’d already be moving you to my level five class.”

“Oh,” Jungkook breathed, pulling his shirt away from his body to blow air against his chest. “Is that because you’ve been secretly training me already? And Jin-hyung taught me some things?”

“That could be part of it,” Hobi said with a nod, but smiled slyly at him. “But you’re also very physically adept Jungkook-ah, you pick up moves very quickly. I think you’ll have no trouble getting through the training, even if you had neither of those things to get you started.”

Jungkook nodded, grinning proudly as he laid himself out on the cool wooden flooring. Hobi chuckled and patted his knee before standing up, taking his wraps off of his hands as he walked to the end of the room.

“I have to go take over from Jiminie,” he tells Jungkook as he pulls the younger man up from the floor. “Your brother needs constant eyes on him, so we’re taking shifts. Get some rest now, Kookie, I’ll tell you when the next session is. Just send me your class schedule, we can work around that.”

“Thanks Hobi-hyung,” Jungkook says, unwrapping his bandages from his hands. “I’m sorry you’re having to watch my idiot older brother.”

Hobi shrugged and tossed his duffle bag over his shoulder, “It’s not the first time we’ve had to deal with Jin, at least this time he’s not trying to escape us twenty-four seven.”

Jungkook waves goodbye to Hobi in front of the elevators and rides up to Yoongi and Taehyung’s apartment. The sounds of jazz greet him as he enters the floor, as he turns into the living room he sees Taehyung deep in a painting session. Sitting on a tall chair in front of a large easel and canvas, a glass of red wine in one hand and a paintbrush in the other, painting delicate petals of flowers across a dark background.

Jungkook takes a seat on the couch behind the painting station and just watches as his hyung switches between his brushes and paint as he sips on his wine glass.

“How was your training session with Hobi, Jungkook-ah?” Taehyung asks after a moment, not even looking over at the couch as he paints the green stems of the wilting ruby roses.

Jungkook smiles at his hyung’s slouched back, “It was fun, Hobi-hyung taught me a lot. I was even able to put him in a headlock when we spared.”

“Atta boy,” Taehyung praises, setting his brush down and finishing his last bit of wine before turning to Jungkook. He has a delicate pair of gold wire glasses on the bridge of his nose, as he smiles they glint in the lamplight. “Do you want to join Yoons and I for dinner tonight, before going down to your apartment?”

Jungkook nods eagerly, “Why did hyung give me a key? The elevators go straight into the apartments.”

Taehyung chuckles as stands from his chair and wipes his paint stained hands on a cloth, “Did you forget? That’s the private elevator, the renters have a separate entrance that leads to the doors of the apartments. We don’t need anyone just wandering into our home.”

“How did you keep the renters from using the private elevator in their apartments? Or is it not connected to those two?” Jungkook asks, following Taehyung into the kitchen and sits down in a bar stool when he shoos him away from helping with dinner.

“They’re connected,” Taehyung says with a sly smile, pulling his chef knife out of the knife block. “The elevator is just hidden on those two floors, unlike the other ones. And we don’t tell the random renters of the apartments about it.”

“That’s sketchy hyung,” Jungkook chuckles as Taehyung starts slicing some carrots. “How does that pass the home inspections?”

Taehyung just winks at him as he continues to work on their dinner. While watching him work, a thought reappears in Jungkook’s mind from this morning.

“Hey hyung?” Taehyung hums in question as Jungkook pauses and fiddles with his lip ring. “Would it be too soon for me to… get Namjoon and I couple rings?”

Taehyung pauses his knife movements and looks up at Jungkook, “Is this about that Irene woman Yoongi mentioned this morning?”

Jungkook digs his teeth into his lip ring harder and nods, Taehyung softens his face.

“You don’t have to worry about Namjoon being unfaithful, Jungkook-ah.” He says softly. “And not because he knows what will happen to him if he does, but because he’s not that kind of man. He loves with his whole heart, leaves no room for someone else to come in and take up space.”

Jungkook blushes at the mention of that four letter word, “It’s not him I’m worried about, I guess I’m just a bit possessive of him. I don’t want anyone looking at him without knowing that he’s mine now.”

Taehyung chuckles, “I guess you never did grow out of that ‘what’s mine is mine and what’s yours in mine’ phase. But I understand what you mean, Kookie, I was the same way with Yoongles before we got married.”

Jungkook hummed as Taehyung returned to his prepwork, “So, do you think I should get them?”

“Have you looked at some?” Taehyung asks as he starts pulling out some pots to begin cooking with.

Jungkook scratches his nose in embarrassment, “I might have.”

Taehyung chuckles in delight, “Show me.”

Yoongi finds the pair huddled over Jungkook’s phone making noises of agreement or disapproval to each other while dinner simmers on the stovetop.

“What are you two doing now?” He asks, stepping over to the stove to check on the food before it starts burning.

“Get those two Kookie, I think they’re perfect.” Taehyung says to Jungkook before going over to Yoongi’s side, placing a kiss on his forehead, and starts getting the dinner moved onto plates for them to eat. “Just helping Kookie find some rings for him and Joonie, Yoons.”

“Couple rings, hyung.” Jungkook says quickly when Yoongi turns a wide eyed look at him.

Yoongi sighs in relief, “Thank goodness, I’m not ready to walk you down the aisle yet.”

“Wouldn’t I walk him down the aisle?” Taehyung objects, grabbing a bottle of soju to go with their dinner as they sit down at the dining room table.

“We can both walk him,” Yoongi amends, scooping a bowl of white rice for Jungkook and handing it over to him. “Seokjin will probably have to be chained down in his seat and gagged to keep him from objecting.”

Taehyung hummed in agreement, pouring their shot glasses of soju, “Jiminie and Hobi can be the best men, do you think we should have Doctor Wook officiate like with our wedding?”

“That man really does need to retire at this point,” Yoongi comments, throwing back his shot of soju. “Jisoo is only a few months away from completing her doctorate and she has enough experience to take his place easily enough now.”

“Jisoo is a part of the Bulletproof Company?” Jungkook asks, looking up from his plate of food in shock.

“She’s one of our best nurses,” Taehyung says, running a thumb across Yoongi’s cheek over his scar. “She helped take care of Yoons while he was healing.”

Yoongi hummed as he began digging into his plate of food, glancing briefly at the questioning look Jungkook was giving him. “That is a story we’ll tell you another day, I want to see those rings that you want to get. We have a jeweler that does all of our pieces, he knows Joon’s size.”

Jungkook nods and slides his phone down the table to Yoongi, he gets a hum of approval for his choice as Yoongi looks over the simple design on the silver ring pair.

“Good choice, Jungkook-ah, I think Joon will like them.” Yoongi says, sliding his phone back to him and pulling out his own, probably to message his jeweler.

Jungkook hums happily, glancing back down at the photo of the rings. “Thanks hyung, hopefully I don’t freak Namjoon out too much when I give them to him.”

Taehyung chuckles as he pours Yoongi another shot of soju into his glass, a mischievous light coming into his eyes. “Take a video of it, if he does. We have a group chat full of photos and silly gifs of each other, Hobi mainly takes them.”

Yoongi huffs and rolls his eyes when Jungkook turns his gaze excitedly at him, he pulls out his phone and hands it over. Jungkook takes it eagerly, opens the group chat labeled ‘Bangtan Idiots’ and scrolls through the rows of photos and gifs.

We’re Dripping In It

Chapter 11: Tear

By the time Namjoon and Jungkook had made it to the living room, the light atmosphere from the private study had been completely replaced by a united force of seriousness. Jungkook walked next to Namjoon with sure steps, his lips still tingling from the kiss, but his mind focused on the silhouette of his brother’s wide shoulders in front of the fireplace.

The rest of Namjoon’s Inner Circle sat around on the couches inside, the body guards stationed at the doorway nodded to the pair as they entered and closed the doors behind them. Seokjin turned at the sound, his eyes widening at the sight of Jungkook, his mouth and hands still bound.

“We can take those off him now,” Namjoon states coldly, folding his hands behind his back as he stares at Seokjin. “This is going to be a two sided conversation after all.”

Yoongi nods and stands to remove them, both sets of ropes are cut with a long knife from his side sheath and tossed to the floor. Seokjin rubs his wrists and flexes his jaw as Yoongi takes his seat next to his husband.

“What the hell are you doing here, Jungkook!” Jin barked, twisting his wrists to ease the pain. “You’re supposed to be at school! Not…”

“And you were supposed to just be on vacation not trying to infiltrate a foreign gang, hyung!” Jungkook countered angrily, crossing his arms across his chest. “I guess neither of us are men of our word. Mother would have been ashamed.”

“Of you or of me,” Jin spat coldly. “The woman wasn’t exactly a saint either, but we both know who her favorite was.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes, “I wasn’t her favorite, hyung, that was you. But we’re not having this argument again, let her rest in peace. We have other things to discuss. Like what the hell were you thinking? Why did you even go to Morocco, it clearly wasn’t for the mountain view.”

Jin scoffed, “Like you’re any better, what the hell are you doing with Kim Namjoon of all people? Do you even know who he is, who he truly is!? What he’s done to our family?”

“Who? Him?” Jungkook asked, jutting a thumb at Namjoon who stood impassively next to him. He tossed a dismissive hand, “Picked him up in an alleyway and he’s stuck to me like glue ever since.”

“This is no joking matter, Jungkook!” Jin shouted, stomping his foot in anger. “That man is dangerous! He’s a liar and a killer! He killed our father in cold blood!”

Jungkook stared at his brother as he panted in anger, he tilted his head and placed his hands behind his back as he contemplated his words, “How exactly did he kill our father in cold blood?”

Jin looked triumphant for a moment before launching into his rant, “He forced our father to go on a mission the day he was supposed to be leaving this life. He promised that it was going to be safe, that it was just a diplomatic mission, but it wasn’t. It was a set up, I know it was! Namjoon didn’t want any competition in the long run of taking over his father’s company, so he had to eliminate anyone he saw as a threat. What better way then have a rival company do it and blame his death on them! He only went on his revenge plot against them to cover up the secret, getting their territory was an added bonus.”

Jungkook listened to his brother's words impassively, glancing at the furious looks of his hyungs sitting around the living room. Many looked like they wanted to pounce on Jin to take back his cruel words about their Leader. Only Hobi’s face looked sad instead of angry. He shifted on his feet to glance at Namjoon, not surprised to see the man wearing a blank look on his face but Jungkook could see a glimpse of a fist being clenched.

“He’s probably told you so many lies about how our father was his mentor and how he mourned his death, but it's all part of his nasty lies! He’s trying to trick you! Turn you against me and have you on his side!” Jin added, taking a step towards Jungkook as he spoke.

“How exactly would he benefit from having a college student on his side, hyung?” Jungkook asked incredulously, raising his brow at him. It didn’t seem to deter Jin for a moment, he was on a roll.

“He can shape you and mold you into the perfect weapon for him. Why do you think I’ve spent all these years hiding you from him! Ever since you were a kid you’ve been talented, you would have taken to this world like a duck to water. You’d be better than everyone in this room in a month, the ultimate weapon!” Jin didn’t stop, even when Jungkook flinched at the passionate words being said.

“I’ve encouraged anything in your life that would keep you away from this world, but I wanted you to be strong too, capable of putting up a fight if you needed to. But I had to keep you away, once you got a taste,” Jin shook his head sadly, “it's in our blood. Our father, mother, me. We thrive in this world, I didn’t want it to taint you too.”

“And your best idea for keeping me out of it was to leave me unattended and run off to Morocco to fight another gang?” Jungkook countered, trying to see his brother’s logic.

“Not fight them!” Jin countered immediately, “And not to join them either, I was gathering blackmail on them. If I could get them in the palm of my hand then I could shut down the trade between them and Namjoon. Then I’d move onto the next company on the Bulletproof Company’s payroll until I had all of them. Then I’d be able to cut Namjoon completely off from the outside world! Without those trades he would crumble, the empire would fall and I would finally be able to complete my revenge for my father!”

Silence followed Jin’s passionate shout, Jungkook stared at him blankly. A beat passed, then someone clapped slowly. Yoongi stood clapping his large hands, but he wasn’t looking at Jin, no, he was looking at Jungkook with a proud look on his face.

“Well done, Jungkook,” he praised, smirking at Jin’s confused face. “That wasn’t even planned and he played you like a violin. We would have never gotten that from you, no matter how long we tortured you. So thank you for falling for it.”

Jungkook gave a mock bow to the room, his eyes never leaving his brother’s face as he smirked. Internally, he was thankful to his hyung. There was a tremble in his hands from his brother’s harsh words, but he could feel his control coming back to himself after Yoongi stood at his side.

“What…?” Jin gasped, looking around in confusion, eyes wide with shock and hurt. “Jungkook-ah…”

“Sorry hyung,” Jungkook shrugged, feeling Namjoon step close behind him placing a hand on his lower back. “Namjoon beat you to the punch, despite what you may think, our father did not die in some evil plot. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to convince you of that, but it’s the truth, you just refuse to see it. I understand that you’re grieving our father’s passing, but that’s no reason to try and take down the largest gang in South Korea.”

“No, no, Jungkook, he's lied to you, he’s…” Jin started to protest, shaking his head violently in denial. “How can you believe him over your brother? Your own flesh and blood.”

Jungook gave his brother a hard look, “If there’s anyone that’s lied to me in this room, it's you hyung. You lied to me about who and what my father was. You lied to me about how he died. You lied to me about why you were leaving the country! All you’ve ever done in my life is a lie! So, yes, I believe Namjoon over you, because never once has he lied to me.”

Jungkook felt another hand being placed on his back and saw out of the corner of his eye Taehyung beginning to stand from his seat.

“You can’t know that for sure!” Jin yelled back, clenching his fists. “You’ve always been too trusting Jungkook-ah and I’m telling you right now, this won’t end how you think it will! You can’t just dismiss our father’s death so easily!”

Jungkook sighed looking at his brother in pity, “I’m not going to argue with you, hyung. Our father is dead, no amount of revenge or anger is going to bring him back. We need to move on.”

“That’s easy for you to say!” Jin barked, a tear falling from his eye. “You never knew him, not like I did! Not like mom did! You were too young, you barely have any memories of him, but I do! And I can’t let go so easily!”

Jungkook scowled in anger, “I don’t have clear memories of him because he was never in my life hyung! Not like he was for you! I spent my entire childhood being angry at his absence but I refuse to allow that anger taint my adulthood. And you can’t let your grief taint yours, you need to let it go.”

Jin scoffed and turned away from him, crossing his arms over his chest. Jungkook sniffed and tried to ignore the tears running down his face, his anger fading from his body as he shook his head and turned away to leave. Taehyung stood behind him and moved to pull him to his chest, but a hand yanked his arm roughly and pulled him away from the small huddle the four of them had made. He looked at Jin in shock as Yoongi and Taehyung’s expressions turned deadly.

“If I have to drag you out of this place kicking and screaming, I will!” He growled right in Jungkook’s face. “I don’t care whose body I have to step over, I am not leaving you here with him!”

Jungkook yanked his arm out of Jin’s grip and took a step back, “We have no intention of letting you leave at all, hyung. You’ve already proved yourself a danger to us to be out on your own, you won’t be leaving this house at all.”

Jin growled and moved to grab Jungkook again but he side stepped him. He waved a small hand at his hyungs as he allowed Jin to chase him around the room, getting increasingly more frustrated as he dodged his hands.

“Jin-hyung this is childish,” Jungkook sighed, side stepping out of his way again. “Give it a rest before I put an end to it.”

Jin scoffed and stopped his movement to roll his eyes at his younger brother, “This isn’t like our night fights Jungkook, you have no chance of beating me.”

Jungkook clenched his jaw, “I’ll take that as a challenge then, bring it on hyung.”

Jin started to scoff but was cut off by Jungkook throwing a punch dead center in his chest, making him wheeze and stumble backwards at the force. He stared at Jungkook in shock, rubbing his chest, as Jungkook placed himself into a boxing stance. He raised his eyebrow challengingly at his hyung, making the man growl and charge at him. This time Jungkook met him head on, dodging his punches and throwing his own at any part of Jin’s body that he could.

He stood his ground throughout the exchanged punches, grunting lightly when Jin managed to land one or two on his shoulder or ribs. Slowly he started to back Jin up, trying to corner him between the walls. Jin glanced at this and quickly maneuvered away from the tight spot Jungkook was backing him towards. Jungkook continued to pursue around the room, blocking Jin’s fists with his forearms.

Jungkook’s gaze is locked on Jin’s frantic movements and when the opportunity to grip onto his hyung’s arm comes, he takes it. With two firm hands he gripped Jin’s arm, shifted his weight, planted his feet, then tossed his hyung over his head bringing him down on the ground with a loud smack. Jin wheezed and coughed as the wind was knocked out of him, curling around himself in pain. Jungkook took a step back, not relaxing his stance as he stared down at Jin’s whimpering body. It was well timed because Jin jumped to his feet and tried to pounce on Jungkook, only to be twisted around until Jungkook had him in a headlock.

Jin clawed at his arms, kicked his legs trying to get his shins, but Jungkook widened his stance to avoid the kicks. He barely flinched as Jin’s nails dug into his skin. He kept squeezing until Jin’s fight against him became weaker and weaker, not letting up even when Jin’s smacks against his arms were just light taps.

“Tap the fuck out.” Jungkook growled into his ear, only getting a small shake of the head in response.

“And you call me competitive.” He scoffed as Jin’s breaths became choked. He waited a beat or two, until Jin’s body was becoming limp in his arms before dropping him to the ground. His heart pounding in his ears and his breaths coming out as pants.

He stared down at his brother’s limp body, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw Jin’s chest rise up with a breath.

“There’s been enough death in our family, hyung.” He muttered to him sadly. “Please don’t make me add you to that list.”

Jungkook backed away as Jimin and Hobi came over to check over him, his back knocked straight into a warm embrace as he watched his hyungs call their men into the room to take Jin away.

“Good job, baby, you’re okay. He’s okay, you just knocked him out. Our doctors will take care of him now.” Namjoon whispered in his ear, his words melting Jungkook into his embrace. “There we go, little one, you did so well.”

Jungkook took a shaky breath as he gripped one of Namjoon’s arms in his shaking hands, he tilted his head to the side as Namjoon placed a kiss on the side of his head. “I’ve never… I’ve never choked him out before. He always tapped out before I could.”

Namjoon shushed him as he tightened his arms around his body, “Enough of that, you did what you had to. He wouldn’t have stopped, it was the only way. We can try and talk to him again later, we’ll try again.”

Jungkook sighed as Namjoon’s words washed over him, he twisted around in his arms to face him and looped his arms around his waist, placing his head against his chest. “I’m tired, Namjoon, take me to bed.”

Namjoon bent down and scooped him into his arms. Jungkook moved his arms around his neck, his legs coming around his waist, and kept his head buried into Namjoon’s neck as he was carried out of the room. Taehyung moved forward and placed a soothing hand down Jungkook’s back, placing a kiss onto his hairline before letting Namjoon leave.

“We’ll debrief in the morning,” Namjoon murmured as he passed Yoongi, who ran a hand through Jungkook’s hair and opened the door for them to leave the room. Namjoon didn’t break his stride as he climbed the stairs and made his way down the halls.

“This house really is too damn big.” He groaned, pushing his door open and placing Jungkook on the bed.

Jungkook rolled to the center of the bed, wriggling to get under the covers. Once he was comfortable he made grabby hands at Namjoon, who chuckled and pulled off his suit jacket.

“Are you patient enough to let me change my clothes?” Namjoon asked, moving to hang his jacket inside his closet. He chuckled at the low whine Jungkook gave in response, but continued to remove his suit from his body.

Jungkook stopped his whining as he watched Namjoon strip in front of him, the closet in full view from the bed. Namjoon pulled his belt off next, hung it, then untucked his white dress shirt. He unbuttons the shirt from the bottom to the top, pulling it off his bare shoulders without a care. Jungkook’s eyes drink in the expanse of honeyed skin, watching with a watering mouth as Namjoon’s back flexes as he slipped the shirt on a hanger and placed it on a rack.

His abs constricted as he bent slightly to unbutton his pants, dropping them quickly and kicking them aside before grabbing a pair of sweatpants. His thick thighs flexed, making Jungkook almost moan out loud, as he stepped into them and pulled them up to his waist. The long drawstring of the pants dangled suggestfully between his legs.

Namjoon pulled a loose shirt from a hanger and pulled it over his head as he walked towards the bed. Jungkook stared at the defined pecs and flexing abs until they disappeared under the shirt and Namjoon’s smirking face popped out.

“You did that on purpose,” he accuses breathlessly, as Namjoon crawls onto the bed and slides next to him. “You’re trying to distract me.”

Namjoon chuckles as he pulls Jungkook into his arms, “Did it work?”

Jungkook hummed, pretending to think, “I don’t know, I think I need a second viewing just to be sure.”

Namjoon tapped the tip of his nose playfully, “I see how it is, you just want me for my body.”

“Yes,” Jungkook answers cheerfully, giggling at Namjoon’s offended gasp. “And your money, I have student loans you know.”

“Got it,” Namjoon said with a mock serious nod. “Body and money, I’m basically your escort.”

Jungkook bursts into laughter at Namjoon’s serious but pleased face at this statement. He laughs even harder as Namjoon clutches him tight to his chest and rolls them so that Jungkook is on top of him. He lifts his face and places a kiss under Jungkook’s bottom lip, square on the mole where they matched. Jungkook hums happily as Namjoon continues to trail kisses down his jaw as his giggles die down.

“Hi,” Jungkook greets as Namjoon pulls back, his face breaking out in a big smile.

“Hi baby,” Namjoon chuckles, grinning widely back at him.

Jungkook hums happily, crossing his arms over Namjoon’s chest and resting his chin on top of them. His legs spread to lay on either side of Namjoon’s hips as he gets completely comfortable laying across his body. “I think I remember you saying that you needed to discuss something else with me, but we got interrupted.”

Namjoon hums in agreement, moving one of his hands behind his head while the other rests on Jungkook’s lower back. “I did, are you alright to talk about it now? You’ve had a long day.”

Jungkook shrugged, “It can’t be any worse then what I’ve already heard.”

Namjoon nodded, “We’ll have it now then, I don’t think you should go back to your apartment. What I mean is,” when Jungkook scrunches his eyebrows in confusion, “I don’t think it's safe for you to live there anymore. The Stray Kids Gang picked you up from there. Being my boyfriend means that you’ll catch the eye of several of my enemies, I’d rather have you somewhere safer.”

“Namjoon,” Jungkook started with a scolding tone, making the man’s eyes widen and hurry to continue.

“I don’t mean live with me, Jungkook, I know it's too soon for that.” He said quickly, running a soothing hand up and down Jungkook’s back. “The apartment under Yoongi-hyung and Taehyung’s is vacant, I was going to suggest that you move there.”

“Lead with that next time, you bastard.” Jungkook huffed, smacking Namjoon’s chest in protest, Namjoon huffed and rolled his eyes. “I don’t think I can afford the rent though.”

“He probably won’t even charge you for it,” Namjoon assured him with a shrug. “We own the building anyway, he only rents the apartments out because Tae thinks it's ‘fun’ to be a landlord.”

“I couldn’t ask him to let me live there for free,” Jungkook protests with a pout. “Plus how do you even know I’ll like that apartment anyway, I could find a better one somewhere else.”

Namjoon scoffed, “At your income, doubtful. Better pay then when you were a bartender, but not nearly enough for a college student in the middle of Seoul.”

“You should have him pay us more then,” Jungkook argued, poking Namjoon’s cheek right in his dimple. “Or is the Rap Monster of Ilsan scared of our hyung?”

Namjoon groaned as he tilted his head back in agony, “Please don’t tease me about that name, I chose it when I was like thirteen, I thought it was cool. And for your information, everyone else in that club is employed with both Yoongi and I, they’re getting a dual income.”

Jungkook blinked, “Please don’t tell me you own my college campus as well. Because I seriously cannot deal with that on top of everything else.”

“Alright then, I won’t tell you.” Namjoon teased, laughing at Jungkook’s indigent squawk. “But no, I do not own that college.”

Jungkook groaned and let his head drop down onto Namjoon’s chest, “What drama do I now live in?”

“One with a happy ending I hope,” Namjoon sighed, running a hand through Jungkook’s hair.

Jungkook hummed as his eyes closed to the sensation of Namjoon’s nails against his scalp, “Just have to avoid miscommunications, I hate those tropes.” He yawned and snuggled deeper into Namjoon’s chest.

“Do we need to have a weekly debriefing of our troubles and challenges as a couple?” Namjoon asked, sounding only half serious. He only got a weak hum in reply making him laugh softly as he continued to pet Jungkook’s hair as he slowly fell asleep in his arms.

We’re Dripping In It

Chapter 20: Good Day

“So, what exactly do you need to get Jungkook?” Jimin asked as they slid into the waiting SUV, buckling himself into the seat as they started driving down the streets of Seoul.

Jungkook watched as they passed D-Town before pulling his phone from his pocket, “I made a list this morning, honestly I think I need just about everything. My old apartment didn’t have very much room for me to have anything but the bare essentials.”

“I still don’t understand why you even bothered to live there,” Jimin huffed, looking over to Jin’s confused face. “Yoongi-hyung and Taehyung-hyung offered to give Jungkook one of their spare apartments for years, but he insisted on finding his own place with what little money he had while working for them. I only went there once, it was a single room apartment with a tiny bathroom. It was dirty, old and didn’t have any central heating.”

“Why the hell did you move there then?” Jin asked incredulously, looking over at Jungkook’s sheepish face.

Jungkook scratches the tip of his nose as he looks away from his two hyungs staring at him, “I didn’t want to bother Yoongi-hyung and Taehyung-hyung, they had already done so much for me.”

Jin narrows his eyes, “I may not have been in your life much, Jungkook-ah, but I can tell when you’re lying. We just agreed not to have any lies between us anymore, that includes you too.”

Jimin glances between the pair of them as Jungkook fidgets in his seat and Jin continues to stare at his younger brother with a hard look.

“I found out that Yoongi-hyung and Tae had adopted Jimin-hyung, I found the paperwork,” Jungkook whispered, glancing briefly at the pair before dropping his gaze back to his hands. “They never asked me if I wanted that too, I thought it was because they didn’t want to. So I moved out and tried to distance myself from them a bit, it didn’t really work and I hated living on my own.”

“Then why didn’t you talk to them, Jungkook-ah?” Jimin says softly, taking Jungkook’s hands into his. “You could have saved a lot of hurt from everyone if you had just talked to them.”

Jungkook sniffed, “I didn’t want to confirm my worst fears by asking. It would hurt too much to hear that from them.”

Jimin scoffed as he rolled his eyes, “Those two would give you the shirts off their backs if you asked them to. You never have to worry about them not wanting you, you’re their precious little Kookie baby.”

“That sounds like jealousy, hyung.” Jungkook teases, squeezing Jimin’s hands at the reassurance, kicking Jimin’s heeled boot with his clunky one. “It’s not my fault I’m the baby.”

Jin chuckles as the pair continue to kick each other’s shins, placing a hand on both their knees as the rough housing starts to increase. “No fighting children, leave that for the sparring ring, not a moving car. Let me see that list, Jungkook-ah.”

Jungkook hands over his phone before starting a thumb war with Jimin. Despite the man’s small fingers, Jimin was very skilled in evading Jungkook’s movements and holding his thumb under his. They don’t stop their little game until the car rolls to a stop in the parking garage of IKEA.

Jin leads them up the escalator and grabs a cart before they head down the endless rows of furniture and house hold items.

Jungkook’s eyes widened at the number of items that Jin and Jimin pulled from the shelves and placed into the cart. “I don’t think I have enough funds to cover all of this, hyung.”

Jimin chuckles and pulls a black card out his pocket, waving it under Jungkook’s nose. “Your boyfriend slipped this to me before we left, you don’t have to worry about paying for anything.”

Jungkook squeaked as he scrambled to follow after his cackling hyungs, pulling his phone out from his pocket to text Namjoon. ‘You don’t have to pay for my apartment needs.’ He types sending a distressed face emoji at the end.

‘I told Jimin not to tell you, I’ll be having a chat with him later.’ Namjoon sends back. ‘Baby, I don’t mind paying for things. I have more money than I know what to do with half the time. You’re little trip won’t even scratch the surface.’

Jungkook nibbles down on his lip as he follows behind his hyungs, trying to find the right words to say to his boyfriend. It wasn’t that he wasn’t grateful, he was, he just didn’t want Namjoon to feel like he was using him.

‘Think of it this way,’ Namjoon sends, as if sensing what was bothering Jungkook. ‘If we ever get married, it’ll be your money anyway. So, spend it how you like.’

Jungkook chuckles as his face heats up in pleasure, ‘I see the couple rings have gone to your head. Won’t even let us move in together but already talking about marrying me.’

‘Technically baby, you brought it up first.’ Namjoon teases. ‘We weren’t even officially boyfriends when you talked about our wedding day.’

Jungkook snorted at the memory and sent Namjoon a rolling eyes emoji, ‘Fine. I’ll go spend all your money, yeobo.’

‘Good boy,’ Namjoon sends back with a wide smile emoji. ‘I expect a big bill when you get back, baby.’

Jungkook rolls his eyes and stuffs his phone back in his pocket, joining his hyung’s sides as they argue over which china set would suit Jungkook’s apartment better.

“I like the blue set,” he says, choosing neither of their choices as he looks at the chinaware. “We need to look at living room sets after finishing in the kitchen.”

Jungkook does his best not to look at the very long bill that’s handed to Jimin as they finish at the checkout counter. A trail of suited men load up three SUVs with all the bags from their carts and a moving truck filled with the furniture pieces is loaded before making the journey to Jungkook’s apartment.

When they arrive, everything is taken up for them by Namjoon’s men. Jin works with some of them to put the pieces of furniture together, while Jimin and Jungkook work on washing all the kitchen ware and setting them into his cupboards. Slowly the apartment starts to come together, Taehyung steps in from the elevator a few hours into their work and smiles as he watches Jungkook argue with Jin on where his couch should sit.

“It should face the window, hyung, why would I want it to face into the kitchen?” Jungkook asks, gesturing to the wide windows that overlook a small balcony.

“Why would you want to look at your breakfast table under the window?” Jin counters, pointing to the little white table and chairs that sat on the raised ledge. “You’d also have your back to the doors, with it facing the kitchen you’ll be able to see all entrances!”

“Except the balcony door,” Jungkook points out, pointing at the glass frame door that led out to the balcony. Jimin waved at them from outside as he set up the two lounge chairs and small table, then began weaving lights through the metal balcony railing.

“Why not have it face that wall?” Taehyung suggests, pointing to the wall that stood just before the elevator hallway. “Aren’t you going to have a TV set up there anyway?”

Taehyung snickered as Jungkook and Jin muttered ‘oh yeah’ together and started moving the couch to face that wall.

“The place looks very nice, Kookie. I’m glad we were finally able to convince you to have it.” Taehyung teased, looking around at all the simple furniture Jungkook had chosen around his open living room and kitchen. “Now I just need to get the floor below you ready for the three meerkats to move into.”

Jungkook scrunched his brow as he followed his hyung down the hall towards his main bedroom, “Who hyung?”

“Jiminie, Hobi, and Jin,” Taehyung answered, waving at Jimin through the hallway windows that overlooked the balcony before turning into the open door for Jungkook’s room. “I think the three of them are about to become a thing in the near future and I want everyone under my roof when that happens.”

Jungkook blinked and shook his head, “I don’t need that image in my head, hyung. Technically they are all my brothers, in one way or another.”

“Jin is your only blood brother and Hobi won’t be your brother-in-law until you marry Namjoon, Jiminie doesn’t fit into either of those categories.” Taehyung points out, checking over Jungkook’s bathroom and running the taps.

“Jimin is my adoptive brother and my best friend,” Jungkook says, sitting down on the dark comforter of his bed as Taehyung passes to look inside the walk-in closet.

“What does that make Yoons and I, then?” Taehyung asks, tutting his tongue at the rows of black clothes on Jungkook’s hangers. Muttering to himself about buying Jungkook some more colorful clothes.

“Aren’t you and hyung technically my adoptive parents at this point? You literally talked about walking me down the aisle the other night.” Jungkook pouts, crossing his arms over his chest. Trying to be playful, but he felt that this would be the right time to have this conversation with his hyung.

Taehyung’s hand froze as he flicked through Jungkook’s black t-shirts and looked over at Jungkook with wide, shiny eyes. “You… you actually see Yoongi and I as your parents?”

Jungkook blinks at him and scratches the end of his nose in embarrassment, “I thought I made it clear how I felt about you guys, but after I saw Jimin’s adoption papers and you never asked me if I wanted that, I figured you didn’t feel the same.”

“Is that why you left, Jungkook-ah,” Taehyung whispers, moving out of the closet to kneel in front of Jungkook. “Did you move out because you thought Yoongi and I didn’t want you?”

Jungkook nods, a choked hum in his throat as tears begin to fall down his face. “Why didn’t you ask hyung?”

“Because I was scared,” Taehyung whispered, taking Jungkook’s hands into his and squeezed them tightly. “I was scared that if I asked, if I stepped over that line, that we’d scare you away. That would have been a big commitment for you and you still talked so fondly of your brother. I didn’t want to sever you from him even more than you already were. Even if you didn’t take our name, by letting us adopt you we could have driven Jin far away. It would’ve broken you, cause you still held out hope that he’d come back.”

“And he did,” Jungkook whispered, still choking on gentle sobs. “But hyung I wanted you, I wanted you and Yoongi-hyung to want me.”

“We do, we do want you.” Taehyung said fiercely, tears running down his own face as he pulled Jungkook down into his arms. “You’re my Kookie baby, I don’t care if there’s official paperwork or not, you’re mine. No one can take your place in my heart, you’ve carved your place into it like Yoongi and Jimin.”

Jungkook hiccuped as he clutched tight around Taehyung’s chest, burying his head into his neck as he was pulling into the man’s lap and was gently rocked as he held him. Taehyung hummed a familiar lullaby that always calmed him down during emotional talks, running his fingers gently through Jungkook’s hair as the tears down his face stopped.

“And to think,” Taehyung chuckled, running a hand over Jungkook’s brow. “I told Yoons that I didn’t want to have any kids, now we have two.”

“You didn’t want to adopt any kids with Yoongi-hyung, why hyung?” Jungkook asked, tilting his head up as Taehyung sighed and continued playing with his hair.

“I was very young when I was sold to the Hwarang Boys, younger than even Namjoon when he started his training under his father. I never wanted to bring up a child into this life. I know Yoongi and I would treat them better than most but I couldn’t, in good conscience, do it willingly.” Taehyung explained sadly, looking out into the room with a far off look in his eye. “Yoongi understood that, but until he walked through the door with you in tow, I didn’t realize how much he had given up by marrying me. Our relationship with Jimin is a little different than with you, we don’t treat him any less but he has a very different background. After watching Yoongi with you, I’ve realized what a wonderful father he could have been.”

“Yoongi-hyung would never regret marrying you hyung.” Jungkook says passionately, making Taehyung’s teary eyes turn to him. “He loves you, I could see that since the first day I came into his office. Your wedding picture was sitting proudly on his desk and it still is.”

Taehyung chuckles and wipes his face, “We should take you there someday, the place where Yoons and I got married. It’s where he took me on our first date, although he’ll adamantly deny that it was our first. Unfortunately for him, I disagree.”

Jungkook chuckles as he moves from Taehyung’s lap and pulls him up from the floor, “That sounds like fun hyung!”

“Maybe you can take Joonie with us, we can make it a double date.” Taehyung bursts out laughing at the look of disgust on Jungkook’s face.

“I’m not going on a double date with my parents, hyung! That’s gross!” Jungkook protests, grumbling when Taehyung ruffles his hair.

“Do you want to go and talk to Yoons about those papers, Kookie?” Taehyung asks, smiling his wide boxy smile as Jungkook nods eagerly. “Then let's go upstairs.”

Jungkook doesn’t even wait for Taehyung as he dashes out of the room, ignoring Jin and Jimin’s yelps for him as he leaps over the couch and slides into the open elevator. He’s vibrating as they rise up the few levels and plows through the apartment behind Taehyung.

“What has got the pair of you so excited?” Yoongi snarks, catching sight of Taehyung racing across the apartment and yelping when Jungkook throws himself over top of him on the couch.

Jungkook buries himself into Yoongi’s arms, clutching tight around the man’s shoulders as he tucks his head down against his neck. Yoongi runs his hands up and down his back soothingly as Jungkook settles against him.

Taehyung comes flying back into the room and shows Yoongi the papers he had grabbed. Yoongi reads them over Jungkook’s shoulder, his eyes widening at the words ‘Adoption Form’ at the top.

“Oh,” Yoongi whispers, suddenly clutching hard around Jungkook’s shoulders. “We should have had that conversation with you long ago, I knew there was a reason you moved out so suddenly.”

Jungkook nods against Yoongi’s neck, feeling Taehyung rub and hand down his back, “I was just stupid, hyung, should have just talked to you instead of running away.”

“You couldn’t have gotten very far anyway,” Yoongi whispers, placing a kiss on the side of his head.