Day 808

Jimin grins as Jungkook carries him. Okay, as much as being shot sucks, at least he gets his personal butler to do everything for him. Or, in this case, a personal bunny. Jungkook isn't complaining. Jimin isn't either. How could either of them complain? They were just half-gay for each other in the infirmary, so this is like an excuse to have more bro time. However, Jungkook doesn't take Jimin to Y/n's room like he asked.

"Uh, Kook. I know you're more stupid than smart, but that was Y/n's room right there."

"She's not in her room."

"Huh?"

Jungkook takes him to Jimin's room much to his surprise, allowing Jimin to use his hand to open it. And of course, his lovely girlfriend is waiting inside. She's on his bed, cuddling with one of his shirts. Her head snaps up when she hears the creak of the door.

"Park Jimin!" she shouts, hopping up and rushing forward.

"Careful, careful," Jungkook says. Does Y/n listen? No. Why would she? Half of her brain is just like Jungkook's, and the other half is just like Jimin's. As much as Jimin loves her, she's not the brightest. Okay, that was a joke. Mostly.

Jungkook sets Jimin down on his bed. As soon as he does, Y/n wraps her arms around him. This time she does listen to what Jungkook said. She's gentle, burying her head on his shoulder and being careful not to come too close. He appreciates the sentiment. However, he still wants more. More touching and more of her. It's been far too long since he's held her. It feels like it's been decades.

"I'm so glad you're alright," she says, and Jimin doesn't disagree.

They part far too soon, and Jungkook takes it as an opportunity to depart. They say their goodbyes, Jungkook exiting and leaving them alone together. Y/n's quick to take Jimin's hand. "I'm sorry if I scared you," he says.

However, she shakes him off. "It's alright. I'm just glad you're here in front of me now. Alive and well."

"Not necessarily well, but I'm alive. I won't be able to move much for a while, you know that, right?"

"I know, but we'll make it work. I'll be by your side the entire time, okay?"

"I'm so lucky to have you," he says. They embrace again, Jimin holding her a bit tighter than he did before. "I'm gonna miss having rough sex."

She nudges him, chuckling into his shoulder. "Not like we had much of it. It's not like we've been together that long, babe."

His heart flutters at her calling him such sweet names. It's bringing him more joy than it should to hear her speaking like this. "Mm, I'm still gonna miss it," he says in a whisper, kissing her shoulder a few times. She accepts his warmth. She even leans into it, stroking his hair to encourage him to keep going. And he does. "I love spending time with you. I don't care that I got shot, I just want to relax with you."

"And I want the same thing," she replies, rubbing his back in an attempt to console him. It works wonderfully. "Don't overwork yourself, you hear me? I don't need to know you as well as I know Jungkook to know you're going to push yourself to do all the work around here. Let us handle it, okay? We'll handle rebuilding and protection."

"But what if the Ranglers come back?"

"We'll handle that too. Let me protect you this time, alright?"

Jimin doesn't really want to agree. Not because he doesn't trust Y/n to protect him, rather because he has the masculine urge to protect her and treat her like a princess. So he does the only thing he can do. He holds her tighter. "Alright," he says, burying his head against her. "I'll let you handle it. On one condition."

"Hm?"

"I want extra cuddles."

"Oh please, you're getting babied until you're fully recovered."

He gasps to add dramatic effect, pulling back to stare at her with big eyes. "Really? I'm gonna get babied? Are we talking spoon fed and free butt massages?"

"Why am I dating you?" she asks.

"Big dick, nice ass, tragic past."

"Damn right." She ruffles his hair, and Jimin chuckles at the touch. They go back to feeling each other, not wanting to let go. She guides his head to rest on his chest, and it's safe to say he's in heaven. Not only because he's with his woman. He's with his woman and he's resting on her breasts. How can life get any better? Free pillows!

There's a question lingering in the back of his throat. It's clawing at his lungs, begging to be let free. But he doesn't want to ask such a horrid question. Regardless, his lips move on his own, ignoring the thoughts in his mind. "The Howlers... What were they like?" he asks, and she stiffens in his hold. Jimin's quick to wince. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. It's just... Every time I think of them, I get memories I don't want. But after facing them in the hospital, it's like I can say their names again without worrying about having a panic attack. It's strange. It feels wrong."

"I can't tell you if that is or isn't wrong, Min," she says, petting his hair. "What I can tell you is those things are from Hell. They do nothing but take life. Nothing but bring more horror to our already terrible world. I wish it could be different. That we only had to deal with Divas and Deadbaits, but no. It had to be Behemoths and Howlers too. I'd give anything to have a world where there's no zombies. Where there's no more violence, and we can live together. Maybe start a family together one day."

"I'd love that more than anything." He pauses to pull back and stare at her. He hopes all his thoughts are visible through his eyes. "But I love our family now. Apocalypse or not, I know we'll make it. We'll survive and have a biological kid along with Ves. We'll make the best of this world, no matter how long it takes or how hard it is." She doesn't disagree. The woman comes closer, resting a hand on his cheek. He accepts the contact, placing his hand over hers. "How's your graze?"

Y/n shrugs it off, the bandages covering the mark still there, but there's no blood seeping through. "It's okay. Doesn't hurt anymore."

"I'm glad to hear that, my dear. Hopefully I'll be right behind you in the recovery process."

"I know you will be."

She falls quiet, deciding to gaze into his eyes. He returns the action. But once again, he has more questions. After being out for so long, naturally he's curious about how she's been. Jimin doesn't want to ruin the peace. However, he doesn't have much choice. He has to find out at some point, right?

"While I was out, did anything happen to you? Were you okay?" he asks. "I feel so useless. I wish I was there for you these past two days."

"Don't feel that way, Min. I'm okay. I was stressed, but only because I wanted you to be okay too. The others are recovering. Shocked and sad, but recovering." He knows she means from the loss of Fiona. Truthfully, that's a door he doesn't even want to touch right now. "Louis though..."

"I heard he's not coming out to eat."

"No, he isn't. I can't imagine. His wife is gone in the most horrible way."

He furrows his brows, scooting a bit closer and brushing her hair behind her ears so he can see her pretty face. "Do I... Do I even want to know what happened?"

"Probably not, but you'll find out sooner or later, right?" He doesn't reply to that. Not that he doesn't want to, rather he doesn't know how to. "We didn't find any Howlers in the hospital for a while. We thought maybe they left since there was no food. I think we got careless. Cocky, even. Or maybe I did. Maybe it's my fault this all happened. Fuck, when the Howler dropped down and grabbed Fiona, I just stood there. I couldn't get a clear shot. I didn't even try to shoot, and now she's gone."

"Honey," he whispers, kissing her forehead. "It's not your fault. You know that, right?"

"It's hard not to blame myself when I was right there. I watched that thing grab her. I watched it tear her apart until I was covered in her blood. Do you know how long it took me to clean her blood off my body?" He doesn't want to know, but he doesn't raise his voice to stop her. "It took two hours of cleaning. Two full hours. It was nonstop, and no matter what I tried, I couldn't do anything about it."

He twirls a strand of her hair, leaning in to kiss her. She grants his desire and kisses back. It's short and sweet, their bodies connecting to one another. When they part, he rests both his hands on her cheeks. "I'm sorry that happened to you, princess. I wish I was there sooner."

"Would it be selfish to say I'm glad you weren't?"

His brows knit together. "What do you mean?"

"If you were there, what if it killed you too? What if I lost another person? Someone who I cherish? Jimin, I miss Fiona more than anything. She was one of my closest friends, but I can move past it. This isn't the first time I've suffered from loss. If I lost you, though? If I lost both you and her? I don't know if I'd be able to handle it, Min. Maybe I sound dramatic, but I need you. I... I think I really need you."

"Honey," he says in a hushed tone, guiding her head to his chest. She accepts the offer, letting her eyes shut. Jimin kisses the top of her hair, cradling her. "I'm not going anywhere. Injured or not, I'm going to stay right by your side until you get sick of me. We'll make it. I promise."

She smiles and wraps her arms around him. "I think I'm dating you because you're sweet and caring, not because of the nice ass and tragic past part."

"Wait, what about the big dick thing?"

"Well..." They laugh, Jimin kissing her head again. She pulls back just so they can lock eyes. Her hands place themselves on his shoulders, and it's comforting to say the least. "I really like you, Jimin," she says. He bites back a laugh and pecks her lips, letting the warmth seep into his skin.

"I really like you too, Y/n."

~~~

The outside air of the front yard bites at them while they sit at the picnic table. Jimin sips on the stew, sitting across from Taehyung, Yoongi, and Jin. Hoseok is on his left, Jungkook on his right, and Namjoon next to Jungkook. It's safe to say Jungkook is staring at Namjoon's thighs. Jimin can't blame him, if he's being completely honest.

"So, does anyone want to tell me why Yoongi's giving me a death glare?" Jimin asks, the accused man not backing down even after being called out.

"I don't know," Tae replies, glancing at Yoongi. "What's wrong, grandpa? Are your eyes going bad?"

"Ha," Yoongi says, glaring at Tae now.

"Geez, looks can kill. Remind me not to get on his bad side," Jimin says, peeking over at Jungkook to get his gaze away from the ones across from him. "Jungkook, can I ask you something?" He motions for Jimin to continue. "Do you have a crush on Namjoon, Taehyung, or Katherine?"

Jungkook smiles. "Yes."

"Alright, I won't judge. They're all hot. Just have an orgy with them or someth-"

"Jimin, I like you, but do you do anything other than make sex jokes and hate yourself?" Namjoon asks.

Jimin holds a hand over his chest in an effort to appear offended. "I do, actually." Namjoon raises a brow. "I don't just make sex jokes, I have sex too-"

"I despise him," Yoongi says, Jin snorting. "What? Is there a problem?"

"You look like a cat."

Yoongi and Jin peer at each other, Jimin sipping on the broth a bit more. It's pretty good, which makes sense, Katherine cooked it. It feels like it's been years since Jimin has eaten anything, but that's probably just the effects of his old unconscious state hitting him. Or at least, he hopes that's all it is. It'd suck if he had any other medical issues impacting his diet. Lord knows good meals are hard to come by in the apocalypse, and not being able to eat them would make Jimin want to die more than usual.

"I don't look like a cat," Yoongi says, resulting in all six of the other boys glancing at him. The man tilts his head, going back to glaring at Jimin. "Well, if I do, I look like a grumpy one."

"Obviously," Jimin replies, earning him Yoongi's middle finger. "Bitter much?"

"Always."

"As pleasant as this conversation is," Namjoon says, smiling, "it's not. Can we please move on and stop trying to kill each other with our eyes?" Yoongi doesn't back down. "I will lock you in your room until you learn how to stop being a bitch."

"Joon, I've known him for a while. His bitch meter never goes down," Tae says. Yoongi whacks him for that comment. "Ow. See what I mean?"

Hoseok slurps up his stew as fast as possible, attempting to escape. Jin is quick to grab him and bring him back down. "Why do I have to stay? I'm known as the positive one, and all I'm surrounded by is that old grumpy cat meme if it were a person, thick thighs, two gay bitches who are pretending they aren't gay, dad jokes, and horniness if it had legs," Hoseok says.

"Wait, which one am I?" Tae asks, the group glancing at him.

"You're in the gay bitches category with me," Jungkook replies, Hoseok nodding to confirm it. At Tae's pout, Jungkook chuckles. "It's not a bad thing, don't worry. We're very accepting of the gays here. Hoseok is pansexual, after all."

"No shit?" Tae asks, Yoongi's eyes widening. "So is grandpa!"

"My sexuality is none of your concern. Now can we please move on and talk about that kid of yours? He's avoiding me like the plague," Yoongi says.

"To be fair, with the way you look, it's possible you actually have the plague," Jin says. Yoongi whacks his shoulder for that. "Are all cats this violent?"

Yoongi and Jin continue to bicker with each other, Jimin drinking from his bowl while Namjoon stares at them like he wants to die. Which is totally possible at this point. Even the strongest break at some points, and right now, Namjoon is babysitting six grown men with mommy and daddy issues, and surprisingly great hair.

"Yoongi's got a point," Namjoon says, and the group falls quiet at his tone. "Do you know why Ves is ignoring you?"

"He told me he doesn't trust him," Jungkook replies, munching on the chunky beef in his bowl. "But he likes Tae for some reason."

"Because Tae doesn't like me, and Ves likes anyone who doesn't like me," Jimin says, the others grumbling a few agreements. "If I may suggest something, maybe we have other people in the room while Ves is with Yoongi."

"We do. I was there, but Ves still didn't want to give Yoongi shit," Jungkook says.

Yoongi shrugs. "It's not a big deal. If he needs more time to adjust to me, it's fine as long as he doesn't leave campus. Do you have a guard on him?"

"This is a school, not a prison," Namjoon replies. "In the off chance Ves decides to run away and leave all the people he's ever loved, I'll have Tae and Jin watch out for him. Do you think you two can work together?" They nod. "Good. Tae, consider this your final test to prove you're trustworthy. As for you, Mr. Min." Namjoon leans closer, and Jimin would be lying if he said he isn't intimidated by Namjoon's strong form. "I doubt I'll ever trust you. Scientists freak me the fuck out."

"Julia already trusts him with her life," Hoseok says.

"Julia's Julia and Yoongi's hot. Obviously she's going to want to bend over for him. Now can we move on?" Namjoon asks, the others agreeing. "Good. Tae, do you accept this?"

"I do. Will Jin murder me in my sleep?"

"Of course not, my face is too pretty to have blood on it."

"Shoot from a distance," Yoongi says, Jin blinking.

"That's genius. I'll be damned, the scientist has some brain cells after all. I'm surprised that flamethrower you were hiding in your bag didn't burn them all out."

Yoongi stands and departs with his bowl in his hand, Jimin running a hand through his hair. Jungkook snickers and leans back a bit, sighing. "I wish we could play cards. That'd be a fun way to get to know Tae and Yoongi a bit better, don't you think?"

"The last time we played cards, I got asked if I ever had to kill someone I love," Jimin replies, Jungkook's face falling at the words. "So I think we should spare Tae and Yoongi that, yeah?"

"In Fiona's defense-" Jungkook breaks off, coughing at the mention of the fallen archer. Namjoon's lips burrow themselves into a frown, and he departs with Yoongi without a word. Jin and Hoseok share a glance, then they follow their leader, attempting to cheer him up a bit. Jimin's knit brows say it all. "Her loss hit Namjoon harder than he's letting on. She was a good friend to him, and that's without mentioning she helped a lot with our survival. We wouldn't be alive if it weren't for her. We uh, we owe her."

"I wish we could repay that debt," Jimin whispers, finishing off his meal a few seconds later. "Should we clean up and head inside?"

Tae shoots Jungkook a look, and he receives it, nodding. "I'll go first. Don't hurry to follow me," Jungkook says. Alright, now Jimin is catching on. Jungkook swings his legs away from the bench, trotting across the yard with the remainder of his meal in his hands. Jimin bites back a groan, shifting his weight forward so he can peer at Taehyung. Now it's only the two of them, and for once, Jimin's uncomfortable on campus. Not because Tae makes him uncomfortable, rather because it's been a while since Jimin thought about their old relationship. Now he's being forced to.

"You really haven't changed at all, Jimin," Tae says, abandoning his food to instead stare right at Jimin. Gosh, as if Jimin wasn't uncomfortable enough. "I admire that as much as I envy it."

"Envy it? Have you been paying attention? I got shot, I limped my ass to a hospital just to pass out a minute later, and here I am as useless as ever. I don't see how you can envy someone like me."

"Someone talented? Someone the entire group respects? I've had to start over again and again with groups. And now I'm here. Yet another group whose trust I have to gain, and to top it all off, my ex-boyfriend is here and pretending we weren't together for a long time."

"I have a girlfriend now. A girl who I really like. Maybe even love," Jimin says, Taehyung shaking him off.

"That's not where I was going with this. To be honest, I don't give a fuck who you're sleeping with. That's not my business anymore. But what is my business is your gunshot. How much you're sleeping. How much you're eating. It doesn't matter what shit we've been through, you're all I have left. Yoongi may be my friend, but he's secretive and strange. You're literally the only one I have, and I'd be a fool to lose that."

"Or maybe you'd be smart. All I've done since I got here was cause problems. First I go on some scavenge mission and take on a Behemoth by myself. Dumb fucking idea, I had to be rescued by a kid. That's without mentioning how I couldn't even go a full night watch without thinking of Howlers coming to tear us apart and causing me to be distracted. And to top it all off, we get captured and I had to be rescued by Jeon Jungkook of all people. Ninety percent of his personality is his leather jacket, and that's what I got saved by. Namjoon thinks I'm a leader, but leaders are strong and courageous. It feels like the only thing I've done is lecture people and get my ass saved by the people I was lecturing. How embarrassing that I went from the most feared man in our area to the one who needs to be saved by a little kid."

Taehyung leans across the table and places his hand over Jimin's. It's a touch Jimin hasn't felt in a long time, but it's not romantic. Not anymore, and Tae doesn't intend it to be that way. It's an act of consolation. One Jimin didn't know he needed.

"Leaders aren't perfect. That's what makes them leaders. They're real with the people around them. They're honest and vulnerable, but also smart and charismatic. All traits you have, if you haven't noticed. You don't need to be a perfect being to be a leader. Fuck Jimin, I've faced down Behemoths and Howlers before, but you're still the thing I'm most terrified of because you're human. Because you make mistakes and grow from them. If anything, that makes you more terrifying than any Howler ever could be," Tae says, his tone carrying a delicacy Jimin barely registers.

"Maybe," is Jimin's answer, but he isn't sure if he means it or not yet. "I don't know. All I know is that I had to get carried out here because I was stupid enough to get my ass shot. To ignore our rules and play hero. And for what? I shot at the enemy for a few seconds, and it did nothing. There were no positives to that decision. I was a fucking idiot, and now I'm paying the price."

"I'd say you've made far worse decisions. Being with me was one of them."

"Was it?" Jimin asks, his expression showing his confusion.

"Maybe," Tae replies, softly smiling. Jimin's quick to return the look. "Or maybe it wasn't. I'm being about as cryptic as you are. See why it makes you look a bit ridiculous?"

Jimin chuckles, licking his lips to gather as much of the broth's liquid off his mouth as possible. He hopes it isn't improper. Regardless, he places his free hand over Tae's, shaking his head as he speaks.

"Maybe."