jeon jΟ
ngΔΈooΔΈ (
lovestrippedbare) wrote2018-12-12 12:33 pm
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π‘π ππͺπ‘ππ ππͺ
The world feels like it's been a little dimmer since Monday. Generally, Jungkook isn't the type to let himself be too affected by his environment he'd sooner be the one assessing it from a distance, rather than get caught up in all of its complexity but ever since becoming friends with his hyungs, more and more of their moods start to siphon in. He's aware, albeit distantly, when they're sad. Feels their anger and frustration as if they were his own. There are times when it gets to be too much, and Jungkook will always take the time to step away, make sure that he can breathe and feel the ground beneath his feet. But there are times when, no matter how much the earth shifts, he feels like he has to watch.
He's not sure why he always feels like he's holding his breath, waiting for the dissolution.
Yesterday went better than expected, Jungkook thinks. To see Jimin's smile as they sat on the train, taking it to the edge of the country, where they could watch the open sea and the planes taking off into the sky. Even if Jungkook knows that he wasn't able to erase all of the shadows from Jimin's mind, there are times when lifting the burden feels like enough of a success. As long as they can get to the next day, and the next still, there will come a time when all of them will be strong enough to shrug everything off, should they need. Jungkook has to believe that.
He knows that there's a bit of a risk in being out so late three nights now in a row, and he's done his best to keep a close eye on his father whenever at home, assessing his moods. This week seems to be a peaceful one, and not knowing when that grace will end, Jungkook takes advantage of it at once. He's long since learned that things like this can be unpredictable, and the only way to ensure happiness is to grasp at it whenever it's within reach.
And he is happy, enjoying the quiet companionship in Yoongi's room, hours of piano practice behind them now. They're mostly working on homework, which isn't as hard to focus on now than it was a week ago.
As being the key word.
Jungkook figures that he's finished enough for the night he might regret later not working ahead, but for now, everything he needs to present to his teacher the next day is more or less done, and so he slides the notebook away and drops his pen with a flourish. A few steps easily carry him to the bed, and he sits down on the edge of the mattress, holding his arms out in Yoongi's direction.
"I finished, and I'd like to claim my reward," he declares softly, tilting his head with a smile.
He's not sure why he always feels like he's holding his breath, waiting for the dissolution.
Yesterday went better than expected, Jungkook thinks. To see Jimin's smile as they sat on the train, taking it to the edge of the country, where they could watch the open sea and the planes taking off into the sky. Even if Jungkook knows that he wasn't able to erase all of the shadows from Jimin's mind, there are times when lifting the burden feels like enough of a success. As long as they can get to the next day, and the next still, there will come a time when all of them will be strong enough to shrug everything off, should they need. Jungkook has to believe that.
He knows that there's a bit of a risk in being out so late three nights now in a row, and he's done his best to keep a close eye on his father whenever at home, assessing his moods. This week seems to be a peaceful one, and not knowing when that grace will end, Jungkook takes advantage of it at once. He's long since learned that things like this can be unpredictable, and the only way to ensure happiness is to grasp at it whenever it's within reach.
And he is happy, enjoying the quiet companionship in Yoongi's room, hours of piano practice behind them now. They're mostly working on homework, which isn't as hard to focus on now than it was a week ago.
As being the key word.
Jungkook figures that he's finished enough for the night he might regret later not working ahead, but for now, everything he needs to present to his teacher the next day is more or less done, and so he slides the notebook away and drops his pen with a flourish. A few steps easily carry him to the bed, and he sits down on the edge of the mattress, holding his arms out in Yoongi's direction.
"I finished, and I'd like to claim my reward," he declares softly, tilting his head with a smile.
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"Are there specific things you're afraid of?" Jungkook asks after a lengthy pause, continuing to work his hand over Yoongi's back in circles, occasionally finding a figure eight. It feels like the only way to fill the space while he thinks. "What do you... what do you start thinking about, when it gets bad?"
He's afraid of the answers he might hear. It all suddenly reminds him of a brief conversation they had some time ago, of confirming that some of Yoongi's jokes were off-color. What if they were so close to the tongue because they were thoughts that already sifted through Yoongi's mind countless times? Somehow, it doesn't feel like that would be a stretch.
Jungkook pulls Yoongi a little closer, hand pausing to grasp at the fabric of Yoongi's shirt.
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He hates telling the truth about this, though. He's so accustomed to how much these thoughts hurt that he's grown almost numb to it. Jungkook hasn't, and hurting him is the last thing Yoongi ever wants to do. There's a part of him that just wants to brush it off and move on or only tell the smallest parts. That isn't fair, though. They spent too long hiding from each other and he's kept quiet about too much of himself. He doesn't want to do that anymore, at least not here.
So he sighs and takes another deep breath, inhaling the warm, familiar, comforting scent of Jungkook. "I think... that I'm bad," he says slowly. "Wrong. Selfish and not good enough. And one day..." He sighs again, almost laughs, maybe because it isn't funny at all. "One day everyone will figure that out. And then I'll be alone." Even now, he's not sure it isn't at least somewhat true. He's not as good a person as he should be. His mother would have made better use of the time he's been given. Still, the thoughts have changed a little lately. Something else seems almost as certain as the fact that he could be better. "Except for you."
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But he can see now how easy it would be to twist those words into something sharper, something that cuts a little deeper.
"You're the opposite of selfish, Yoongi-ah," he says softly. "And there's nothing bad in you. Being sad and afraid, those things don't make you bad. You're the one everyone turns to when they need someone smart and dependable. I don't think they'd come to you if you were really selfish. Besides, everyone has selfish thoughts sometimes. It's what they do that really matters, right?"
He presses his lips against Yoongi's hair again, the pressure muffling his words. "At least you know I'm not going to leave you. Not ever. But... the other hyungs, I don't think they'd leave you either. You're an irreplaceable part of the group."
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He turns over the rest of Jungkook's words in his head and holds tight to them. He can at least admit he's reasonably smart and he tries hard to be dependable. It's difficult sometimes, when he doesn't have the energy or will to be there for someone else, but he tries. That has to count for something, too. It isn't easy, but he's trying to believe that Jungkook is right about him. There must be things about him worth loving, or he wouldn't be here, safe in his arms like this. He's not so good at hiding that he could possibly keep his true nature from Jungkook, so he can't be all bad.
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(But maybe he's just making excuses for himself. Maybe he really is a coward.)
"But actions are the result of all of your thoughts and wishes, right? Even if I want to kick my teacher sometimes, I know that he's just trying to get me ready for my exams, so I don't. Everyone wants to do stupid things sometimes everyone gets mad." Jungkook threads his fingers through Yoongi's hair, working up a rhythm, following the inhale and exhale of his breath. "But I know you'd never use your anger against me. You'd never try to hurt me."
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And then there's this, being curled up with Jungkook like this, fingers carding gently through his hair, safe, wanted. Maybe not everything he thought was selfish is actually bad. "I guess," he says, slow, feeling out the words, "sometimes it's just... hard to know what's real and what's me lying to myself."
On the very rare occasions when he's let himself talk about this, it's been so difficult. It hurts to admit these things, hurts to imagine how the person he's talking to must feel. If one of his friends told him they felt like this, he knows he would be upset and worried. He's not sure why he mostly just feels like he deserves it. Still, it's a little easier now, a little safer with Jungkook. It still leaves an ache in his chest, but there's something like relief in it, too, at being seen. "It's exhausting."
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But there are still moments where Jungkook thinks that having the visual anchor is important, and it's when Yoongi expresses a deep, bone-aching fatigue that Jungkook shimmies partway down the mattress, fingers still threading through Yoongi's hair, until both of them see eye to eye.
"I'll help you figure it out. Figure out what's real," Jungkook says, searching for Yoongi's gaze, his own earnest and unguarded. "This is real. The way that you love me is real. The love you have for the other hyungs, the way you look out for them, the way you always want what's best for them, even if they've hurt you. That's real. Min Yoongi is a good person."
Jungkook reaches for Yoongi's hand, lacing their fingers together with a soft squeeze. "I wouldn't have fallen in love with you if you weren't one."
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"This is real," Yoongi echoes, other hand finally relaxing its grip on Jungkook's shirt. Holding his hand, he doesn't have such a need of that as an anchor. There isn't much he's always sure of. Even the best things in his life have their dark sides; the piano reminds him too much of his mother sometimes and there are moments when he worries he's selfish with Jungkook. But the love he feels, that he can hold onto. That he's certain of. And right now, clinging to Jungkook like this, he can believe the rest of it, too. He tries so fucking hard to watch over the others, even if he's not always very good at it, even if they don't always want him to.
"I don't like worrying you," he says after a moment. "And it's better when you're around. I really am happy. That's real, too." It's bad enough to make Jungkook worry over him, but Yoongi can't stand the idea that he might think any of this has been a lie. Just because the voice isn't gone doesn't mean it can stop this love. He doesn't think anything ever could.
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But it's better to have it acknowledged, to have it identified for him. Only then, Jungkook thinks, can he really start to try and help.
"I don't like worrying you, either," Jungkook admits, the corners of his lips quirking. He remembers the rising flicker of Yoongi's anger upon first seeing the bruises on Jungkook's shoulders. There are still a couple, even now, on his lower back. Clumsier hits from a hyung who never has to take responsibility. He doesn't like how visible it all is, how impossible to hide. Doesn't like the strain it places on Yoongi, or the way his hands grow tight without relief.
Even then, Jungkook knows it's better that Yoongi be aware.
"But I'm so happy with you, Yoongi-ah. I'm always happy when I'm with you, no matter how hard things get."
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"I want to know," he says softly. "I'd rather worry than not know." Even if it burns him up inside, even if fury threatens to overwhelm him, he can handle that if it means Jungkook doesn't have to be alone. And it's not like he loves Jungkook more than he's loved in return. He meant what he said, how much he loves how much Jungkook cares. So maybe this isn't that different. Maybe it's okay.
Maybe he should stop being a coward and be a little more honest.
"Sometimes it's worse than that. Not for a while now, but. Sometimes." Like everything else, it comes and goes. Most days aren't really that bad, a kind of low ache he's grown used to running underneath everything or a feeling like he's watching everything at a remove. He can handle that, even if he hates it. He lifts Jungkook's hand in his, presses a kiss to the back of it. "This is a terrible reward. I'm sorry."
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But worse than that is the idea of hiding anything from Yoongi, and so he lays it bare, always thinking of the first night Yoongi learned. How in spite of everything, he was still beautiful.
Jungkook wonders if he'll ever be able to Yoongi that same feeling of security. His gaze briefly breaks, given the ready excuse of soft lips to his hand. Yoongi is right; rather than a reward, this conversation feels like work. There's no instant relief. But he has to believe that shining a light on the scars will help down the road, avoiding pitfalls. Learning how to be more present.
"Don't apologize," Jungkook ushers in a whisper, thumb running over Yoongi's knuckle in steady strokes. "...what's it like when it's worse?"
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But he thinks, briefly, With me, and somehow that steels his resolve. Jungkook loves him. This is part of who he is, no matter how much he hates it or wishes it away. All of these moods and the thoughts, they're part of it and they're part of him, and Jungkook fell in love with him anyway. He deserves every part of him, however awful some of those parts are.
So he takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly, lets the gentle brush of a thumb against his skin soothe him. "Like..." He bites his lip, trying to find the right words. "It's like when everything's too quiet. When there's no music. No color. Everything just is. And it's so tiring and it just doesn't..."
He drops his gaze, watching the soft stroke of Jungkook's thumb, comfortingly hypnotic. It seems safer than meeting his eyes. "It doesn't feel worth it," he says, "to keep going when everything is like that." For a moment, he's afraid, feeling like he's skirted too close to the truth, except that that is the truth and he wants to tell. It isn't comfortable, but it's honest and he doesn't want to hide either, not from Jungkook. "Like it would be easier not to exist." He frowns. "That sounds worse than it is."
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Damn. He doesn't want to show weakness in front of Yoongi. Doesn't want to expose anything that might make Yoongi feel that he can't come to Jungkook under any circumstance. But he can't deny being afraid at the prospect of Yoongi slipping through his fingers for reasons not entirely under their control. If it ever gets worse.
"Thank you for still existing, even when it's hard," Jungkook says, clearing his throat a second later. It feels sticky, his voice wavering with it. "It's got to be worth it, right? Once the worse moments pass, when the music returns. When you're less tired. There are always going to be better days in the future. Right, Yoongi-ah?"
I don't know how I would go on if you weren't here, Jungkook thinks to himself, but it feels too selfish to say. Too burdening. He lets his fingers roam where his words can't, smoothing down the side of Yoongi's neck, brushing up against his jaw.
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"Yes," he says quietly, making himself open his eyes. He won't let himself be that much of a coward, not now, no matter how hard it is to see Jungkook with tears in his eyes. "Sometimes it doesn't feel like it. But it goes away. And... I have you. I have you. And now there's always music. I have so much to look forward to. There's so much we're going to do. I'll be okay."
It almost seems stupid to have brought it up at all in light of that. The future is so much brighter now than it's ever been before. There's so much possibility, so much he's ready for, longing for. The voice might still be there in the back of his head, but it's hard to imagine the color ever going out of the world again when he has Jungkook. Even if it ever does, he knows he has something now to pull him through, something worth living for. Giving up isn't an option anymore. No matter how bad it gets, he could never hurt Jungkook like that.
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"Even if it just doesn't feel like it... please tell me?" Jungkook asks, shifting until both hands are able to reach Yoongi's jaw, brushing over his cheeks, warming them with the slide of skin against skin. "Even if I'm here. Even if you feel like you should be happy. If you're not, I just. I want to be there for you, Yoongi. I'll always pull you back."
He brushes one thumb carefully along the contour of Yoongi's lips before closing the distance and sealing the promise with a kiss, soft breath against skin as his leg slides to wrap around the back of Yoongi's knee, drawing him closer.
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"You will," he murmurs, reaching up to rest his hand on Jungkook's cheek in turn. "I'll tell you." It's a hard thing to say. It's hard enough to tell him all of this now when he's feeling better; getting the words out when he's in the middle of it sounds painful. He has to, though. He owes Jungkook the effort. "I promise. I'll try."
He mostly just wants to keep kissing him now. It would be nice to lose himself in his kiss, in the exhilaration of it, feeling too alive to think of all the times he didn't want to be. Still, if he's going to tell Jungkook these things, maybe he should start now. "You really don't think I'm selfish? I'm not... taking you away from the others?"
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"Hey. I'm the one who gets to decide who I want to be with," Jungkook points out, leaning in to brush the tips of their noses together, glad for an opportunity to introduce a little levity. "You're my boyfriend. Of course you're going to want to spend as much time with me as you can. But you're not keeping me from anyone. You've never stopped me from hanging out with Taehyungie or Jiminie hyung."
Jungkook purses his lips together. "We're in love. Of course we're going to spend more time with each other. That's not selfish, that's just being in love." He glances off to the side, narrowing his eyes with a raise of his brow. "Besides, I'm pretty sure those two were just kidding around."
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"I can't always tell," he says wryly. "I never know when they're serious." He spent so long worrying that, if Jungkook knew how he felt, it would ruin the dynamic of the group. In a way, that fear has only shifted into a different form, the idea that their being a couple changes things, too. And maybe it does, but he knows he'd rather that than not have this. The others will have to learn how to adjust. He just has to get his brain to accept that and convince his heart not to beat too fast when they tease.
"And I would never try to keep you from anyone." Except his father, maybe. "I just... want you to be happy."
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Not guilt Yoongi for wanting to spend time with his significant other.
Still, the thought feels too exposed, too invasive. Maybe it's better instead to guide Yoongi through the ins and outs of his other friendships, so he learns how to quiet those voices himself.
"If they get like that again, and you're not sure... just poke me, yeah?" Jungkook murmurs. "I know those two almost as well as I know you. It'd be hypocritical of them to talk about either of us being selfish, though. They spend way more time with each other than anyone else."
Jungkook reaches for Yoongi's hand, raising it until he can press his lips against the inside of Yoongi's wrist, pressing a tender kiss against the pulse. "And I want to spend more time with you than anyone else. You're the one who makes me happiest of all."
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He brushes his thumb against Jungkook's cheek, smiling fondly and shifting his head closer. "Then I don't care what they think anyway," he says, and it's mostly true. They're still his friends. It still matters. But this is the most important thing. It always will be. Besides, Jungkook is right. Taehyung and Jimin are practically bound to each other β the red string of fate, like Taehyung said the other day. They can't really judge if it's the same with him and Jungkook, if the two of them are tied up in each other, body and soul. It doesn't make either of them selfish, not to Yoongi. Maybe it's just that, love them though he might, it's easier for him to understand why someone would be jealous about not having access to Jungkook than to either of them.
Leaning in, he brushes a kiss against Jungkook's lips, soft and quick. "I love you," he says, closing the gap between them to kiss him again, deeper this time, pressing as close to him as he can. "Thank you." He's still vaguely embarrassed that any of this was necessary, but he's relieved, too, and grateful, lighter now than he was a few hours ago for having shared his fears. All he can do is hope he hasn't weighed Jungkook down too much in return.
Smiling against Jungkook's mouth, he drops his hand to tug gently at the other boy's shirt. "Do I get a reward? For talking about my feelings?"
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"I love you," Jungkook murmurs, breath punctuated with a quiet laugh. He's feeling suddenly shy, marveling at the way his pulse quickens even now, weeks since they started the relationship. There are times when being with Yoongi is as simple and thoughtless as breathing, companionable silence over homework, cuddles on the couch. Other times, he finds himself taking a step back, wondering at how his life was able to take such a turn. How everything looks and feels different, now that he's no longer alone.
Drawing in a shallow breath, Jungkook nods, biting down on his lower lip as he reaches for Yoongi's hand, nudging it higher, watching the way the fabric bunches against his wrist. He's been checking himself in the mirror lately, searching for bruises to help prepare himself for the looks from Yoongi's eyes. Today, they aren't so bad. Almost clear.
He might as well take advantage.
"What reward were you thinking of exactly, Min-ah?" Jungkook asks, face still within a breath's reach of Yoongi's.
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"You," he murmurs. He shifts his hand, slipping it under the shirt instead, fingertips grazing higher along Jungkook's ribs. It pulls the fabric higher still, but Yoongi wants more. A little at a time, his nerves over what he's said ebb away, giving way to a lightness, as if his burden has literally started to lift away with someone else's hands to help him carry it. Tonight's worries were baseless, and that goes a long way, too, to easing his mood, letting him relax into the simple pleasure of being here with Jungkook.
Besides, it's been a couple of days since they got to spend the night together. He doesn't want to waste that.
His thumb strokes along Jungkook's skin and he smiles, leaning in for another, briefer kiss. "I've been wanting to touch you all week." It's only Wednesday, but he feels like that's beside the point. Kissing Jungkook is much more important than acknowledging his own impatience.
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"Do you know how hard it is?" Jungkook whispers, lips pursed in a smile as his gaze fans down, traces along the line of Yoongi's collarbone. "Every day that I don't get to touch you? I never thought I could need someone so much."
Impatience gives way to action as Jungkook leans in with a quick intake of breath before their lips meet. His leg shifts, seeking the narrow space between Yoongi's legs until his thigh is pressed up against him with a gentle, steady pressure.
He pulls back just enough to start trailing tender kisses along the line of Yoongi's jaw, against the delicate skin under his chin. "It drives me crazy, seeing you in the halls. Being in the classroom together. Just seeing your texts," he laughs.
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Exhaling slowly, he closes his eyes, enjoying the slow, soft kisses against his skin. "Those texts are torture," he adds, laughing a little. "I get so fucking hard thinking about you. But I don't want to stop." Maybe that's masochistic of him. He'd rather the torture of reading those texts and imagining all the things he could be doing to and with Jungkook than not to have that. It makes class a hell of a lot more interesting. It's dangerous, he knows. The last thing they need is to get caught sending each other messages like that by an irritated teacher. Still, it's worth the risk, just like sneaking out of class to meet in the bathroom is.
Hips rolling again, he lets out a small, soft sound, wanting more even as he likes taking their time this way. "I like driving you crazy. Like you thinking about me."
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But he doesn't, yet. Needs to wait for permission granted.
"I get hard, too," he admits on an exhale, pressing his nose against skin to soothe the places inflamed by the edge of his teeth. Breathes in deep, never getting enough of the way Yoongi's skin smells. "I try to hide it, but it's... god, sometimes I don't even care if anyone sees. Feels good. S'nice, imagining... how you'd look if you were under the desk, sucking me off." His cheeks flare red, not yet accustomed to being so bold with his words. Jungkook glances up, lips parted as he watches for Yoongi's reaction.
Waits and hopes that Yoongi will take charge.
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