Jungkook was sprawled out on the couch watching the newest episode of Vampire Detective, his newest obsession. He was stuffing his face with popcorn feeling guilty, as it would just be more difficult for him to burn all the calories off. He didn’t care though, because the group’s promotions had just finished, and they were free to rest for about a week. No one was home, except for Jimin and himself. Jimin was currently in the shower, and the others had left to get dinner, saying that this would be the only time they got to do so in a while. The two boys opted out though, taking the chance to stay at home and rest, because they never had time to do that either.

Jimin lazily walked out of the bathroom about five minutes later with a towel hanging low on his hips. He muttered something about being tired as hell, and dragged himself to his shared room with Taehyung. Before leaving though, he made sure to check on the maknae, who still had his planted on the sofa, not a desire to get up. He let him know that he would be in his room, and if Jungkook needed something, to bother him freely.

Jungkook loved that about his hyung. He was always willing to put others before himself, and made sure to take care of s well. He was usually the first one who noticed if anyone got sick and asked them to rest if they seemed tired out of their mind. No matter what time of day it was, Jimin was free for discussion. He listened intently when he was being talked to, and offered advice and support in times of need. Jungkook absolutely admired that about him, and wished that he could be like that too.

Soon after Jimin had left to his room to take a nap, Jungkook felt sleep tugging at his eyes as well. So, instead of heading to his room, he chose to lie down on the couch, turning the TV off before sleeping. Before long, he drifted off and landed in dreamland. He hadn’t noticed how dark it was outside, despite the fact that it was only four in the afternoon, he was too tired to function.

It wasn’t long before he jolted awake, thunder clapping in his ears. He wandered to Jimin’s room and noticed that the older boy was still sound asleep, ears shut with ear plugs. Remembering his other hyungs, he ran to the living room, grabbed his phone and speed dialed Namjoon’s number, and asked him if they were all okay. He learned that they were stuck inside a restaurant, but were safe, hidden away from the strong rain. Jungkook breathed a sigh of relief, and hung up, asking Namjoon to be safe. Finally noticing how dark the dorm had become, he went to switch on the lights, landing back on the couch after doing so. Knowing that it was unsafe to switch on the TV, he chose to simply try and fall back asleep. He shut his eyes tightly, but sleep wasn’t coming to him. So, he grabbed his cell phone and walked towards Jimin’s bedroom, hoping that the elder could help him fall asleep.

He had barely managed to make it to the room halfway when the lights in the dorm shut off with a small crackle. Jungkook froze on the spot. Forgetting that he had a phone to help him illuminate the room, he continued to make small steps, reaching the older boy’s room after a while, a little fear blooming inside him.

Jungkook was nyctophobic.

Ever since he was a little boy, he had been afraid of the dark. His family knew about it and made sure that he was okay whenever the darkness overshadowed the light. His group members, however, had no knowledge of their precious maknae’s fears. Mainly due to the fact that he didn’t want to be babied and pitied, Jungkook kept his fear a secret. They knew that he always needed a night light during bed time, but they never questioned why. This hidden fear though, was now about to be exposed.

Jungkook quietly opened the door to Jimin’s bedroom and made his way inside, shutting it behind him quickly. Shaking, he took small steps and landed beside the older male’s bed where the man in question was still sound asleep.

“J-jimin hyung,” he stuttered out, but Jimin made no effort to move.

Jungkook was getting more and more scared by the second, so he tried again, tapping the man’s shoulder this time.

“Hyung. Jimin hyung, please wake up,” he pleaded.

No movement. Jungkook was seconds away from tears, but he couldn’t give up, seeing that Jimin was his only source of comfort.

“Jiminnie hyung, p-please wake up. Hyung, please,” he begged, shaking the older boy, tears now streaming down his face.

This time, he felt movement. He sensed the bed moving, and breathed a small sigh of relief.

A low grunt, then, “Jungkook-ah, is that you? Why aren’t the lights on?”

“The p-power went out,” Jungkook meekly replied, voice shaky. “Why did you take so long to wake up?”

“Sorry kookie, hyung was really tired,” Jimin answered.

Thunder struck. Lightning hit. And suddenly, Jungkook fell to the floor, breathing rapidly. He was already scared enough, and the sudden thunder made it worse. Jimin bolted up in bed, grabbed his phone trying to light it, but realized that he had forgotten to charge it.

“Jungkook-ah!” he nearly screamed.

Jungkook was now crouched beside the bed, hugging his legs to his chest, shaking frantically. This was was far worse than anything he had experienced before. He couldn’t stop crying and his heart was beating so rapidly that he was afraid it would jump out of his chest.

Jimin jumped off his bed and gathered the crying boy in his arms, attempting to lay him down on his bed and succeeding. Pulling the covers on top of the both of them, he hugged Jungkook tightly to his chest and Jungkook curled himself around the warmth. Jimin had never seen this happen to the younger boy in the five years they’ve known each other. He was scared too, scared that something would happen to the poor maknae. A few minutes passed but Jungkook was still as shaky has ever.

“Kook-ah,” he spoke gently. But the only answer he got was frantic breaths and sobs into his chest.

“Kookie,” he tried again; rubbing the younger’s back soothingly. “Jungkook-ah, I need you to listen to me, okay? Listen to hyung, kookie please.”

He waited until he felt a small nod beside his heart and began again.

“Jungkook-ah, you’re okay. Hyung’s got you, okay?”

“Kookie, look at me,” he tried, tilting Jungkook’s head up. “Can you see me?” he asked, searching for the younger’s shaking eyes, not getting any replies back.

“Kook-ah, listen to me. It’s okay, you’re okay. You’re going to be fine, yeah?”

Listening intently, he heard a small sound escaping Jungkook’s throat.

“I-I’m s-scared, hyung.”

“Jungkook-ah, baby, its okay. You’re okay. Hyung is right here. Nothing is going to happen to you. Please baby, I just need you to listen to me and do as I say okay?” he asked, getting a small nod as a reply this time.

“Kookie, I just need you to breathe. Take deep breaths, just breathe,” he said, rubbing his chest gently.

A while later, he could feel the shaking subsiding a little, and his heart took a break from the rapid beating.

“There you go, baby. Just like that, keep going,” Jimin said. He held Jungkook’s hand and rubbed small circles around the younger’s knuckles.

“Listen to my heartbeat, kookie, hyung is right here. Breathe. You’re okay.” He whispered.

A few minutes passed. The rain had decreased a little, and Jungkook had almost stopped crying. Jimin started to get up from the bed when Jungkook pulled him back down.

“Hyung, no! Please don’t leave me,” he started sobbing again.

“Baby, I’m just getting you some water. I’m not going anywhere. The water bottle is right here, kook-ah, right beside the bed. See?” he said, bending down to grab the bottled water. “Can you sit up for me?”

Jungkook complied, slowly getting up. Jimin opened up the lid and brought the rim of the water bottle close to the younger’s lips.

“Take a sip, kookie,” he said. Jungkook drank, without a word.

“Do you want to lie back down?” Jimin asked, after Jungkook was finished drinking. And instead of replying, Jungkook pulled him close, lied down and snuggled up to the older.

They laid there in silence when Jimin started running his fingers through the younger boy’s hair and placed a kiss on his forehead. By then, Jungkook had completely stopped crying and his heart rate was back to normal. Jimin had decided not to force him to talk about what happened, as that could provoke another attack. Even though he had an idea about what caused the sudden panic attack, he quietly waited, continuing to comb through Jungkook’s hair. He laid there in deep thought when a voice broke through his mind.

“Thank you hyung,” Jungkook quietly said tilting his head up to look at Jimin. “I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here.”

“I’m always going to be here kookie, so don’t worry about it,” Jimin replied, caressing the younger’s cheek. “Always.” Jungkook simply smiled a little before turning his head back down.

“You probably think I’m such a wimp,” Jungkook muttered, after a while. He bitterly chuckled before he started speaking again. “A grown boy crying because of the dark.”

“Baby, I would never! Why would you even think that? We all have our fears, kook-ah, you don’t need to be ashamed of yours. I just wish you had told me or the boys earlier, but I absolutely do not think you’re a wimp, so please don’t speak like that.” Jimin was more than surprised by what Jungkook said. He could never think that way about him even if he tried. He, in fact, thought the complete opposite. He believed that Jungkook was brave for being able to conceal his fear and not let anyone know for such a long period of time.

Small tears were rolling down Jungkook’s face again, and he began to weep for the second time that night. Jimin felt the younger shaking and immediately wrapped his arms around his torso.

“I was just so scared,” Jungkook gasped out, in between sobs. “This is the worst it’s ever been, hyung, I was so scared.”

“Shh, Jungkook-ah, it’s okay, baby. It’s okay to be afraid.”

“I’m sorry about not telling you, I was afraid that you would pity me and judge me.”

Jimin couldn’t believe his ears.

“Kookie, why would you ever think like that? We’re a family, baby, we would never judge you!”

“I’m so-”

“Shhh baby, it’s okay, you don’t need to explain, just breathe,” Jimin told the crying boy when he felt the shaking increase.

Jungkook obeyed, and soon enough, his crying had stopped again. Jimin felt sad for the boy, he could only imagine what it would be like to have all that fear piled up inside you, eating you away.

A few minutes passed. By this time, the severe rain had completely stopped, and the power was back on. The two boys didn’t know that though, as they were too busy being warm, wrapped up in each other.

“I cry too much don’t I?” Jungkook chuckled.

“Jungkook-ah, I beg you, please don’t think those things about yourself. I’m telling you, it’s okay to cry sometimes, you don’t have to keep being strong forever. Let us, let me help you kookie, it’s okay to let your guard down around me.” Jimin reassured the maknae.

“Promise me that when you’re having a hard time, or when you need a shoulder to lean on, you’ll tell me. Promise me,” he asked.

Jungkook smiled.

“Hyung, I don’t think you realize this, but I’ve kind of always done that.”

“Huh?”

“I’m talking about the times I’ve come to you at night, asking to sleep beside you, making the excuse that I’m cold. About the times when we had absolutely nothing to do, so I came and bugged you. About the times that I do stupid things just so I can see you smile.”

“I still don’t understand,” Jimin said

“I could go the others hyungs and ask them to sleep beside me, to play with me, but I don’t. I only come to you, you know why Jiminnie hyung?”

Jimin shook his head.

“You’re my home, hyung. There’s just–something about you that gives me comfort. I don’t know if it’s your warm embrace, your pretty eyes, your soothing voice, or just the fact that you’re you. But hyung, you make me feel safe. I feel like when I’m with you, even the scariest demons can’t harm me, even the darkest nights can’t scare me, and even my worst fears can’t haunt me. Just being with you makes me a happier person. When you’re happy, hyung it makes me really happy too. Your smile has the ability to cure all the diseases in the world, to end all wars, to bring world peace. Just-everything about you, everything you do makes me feel like I’m protected from all harm. You’re my safety hyung, my happiness, my home,” Jungkook replied, a fond smile grazing his face.

Unbeknownst to him, his sweet words had made Jimin cry. He only noticed when he heard small sniffles and felt a tear drop on Jimin’s chest, where he was laying his head.

“J-Jungkook-ah,” Jimin stuttered. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything hyung, just—promise me that you’ll always keep me safe.”

“Forever, baby,” Jimin replied, wiping his tears and hugging the maknae closer to him.

“Hyung,” Jungkook whispered after a while.

“Hmm”

“Thank you. For always being there for me. For protecting me,” he said.

“You don’t have to thank me, kook-ah. You know I’ll always be here,” Jimin replied, running his hands through Jungkook’s hair. “Go to sleep now, baby, you’ve been through a lot today, you’re probably tired.”

“Hyung, you sleep too. I ruined your sleep earlier,” Jungkook answered.

“Jungkook-ah, stop saying things like that! You didn’t ruin anything. Now, sleep,” Jimin scolded the younger.

“You won’t leave?” Jungkook softly asked.

“I promise,” Jimin replied, planting a small kiss on his forehead.

“Jiminnie hyung?” Jungkook spoke again.

“Yes, kookie?”

“I love you.”

Jimin’s heart sped up. He was not expecting that, and as a result, he could feel his cheeks heating up. He was glad that Jungkook couldn’t see his tinted cheeks in the dark. Jungkook probably just meant that as a friendly thing, he thought. But, did he want it to be just a friendly thing, or did he want it to mean more? He realized that he knew the answer to that question, even if it was just a rhetorical one, directed at himself. And so he replied,

“I love you too Jungkook-ah.”

“Hyung, I-I mean it as more than a friend,” Jungkook replied, with a hushed voice.

“Me too, kook-ah, me too,” Jimin replied.

Jungkook tilted his head up, a little unsure of what that meant for the two of them. He had always adored the older man, but he was too scared to tell him, the fear of rejection haunting him. Instead, he had chosen to show him that he loved him through his actions, because after all actions did speak louder than words.

“Go to sleep now baby, I’ll be here when you wake up,” Jimin urged the younger boy.

“I love it when you call me baby,” Jungkook whispered, smiling to himself before finally closing his eyes.

He fell asleep after a while, the feeling of Jimin’s fingers carding through his giving a soothing, and safe sensation. It wasn’t long before Jimin himself fell asleep too, happy with the way the night ended.

When the members returned home from dinner, they noticed the two boys huddled up in each other’s arms, sound asleep. Each of them took pictures of the cute moment between the two, whispering to each other that “it was about time they confessed”. They then dragged themselves to bed as well, the tiredness of the day finally kicking in. Soon enough, all seven boys were fast asleep, the sound of silence taking over the dorm.

And when they woke up in the morning, it would be the start of something new and beautiful.

A/N

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