Jimin smiled at you, standing across from you with his staff poised in a defensive stance.

                For the past few months, you and Jimin had been training constantly. He taught you how to use multiple weapons, but a staff remained your forte. Jungkook joined you occasionally, but he more often went out for field training with the others.

                You and Jimin had grown closer as well. Since more often than not, everybody else was out until late, Jimin would stay with you, his arms wrapped around your figure until you fell asleep in his embrace. It felt nice, knowing you could rely on him to be there.

                You smiled back at Jimin. “So, what are the rules?”

                “First person to get hit by the staff three times loses.”

                “Deal! Let’s make it fun, okay? If I win, you have to make me a good meal. And you get to choose what happens if you win.”

                “Hmm…” He tapped his forehead thoughtfully, making you giggle softly at his adorable gesture. “Ah! I can’t think now, I’ll tell you later, okay? If I win!”

                You nodded. “Yes, that seems fair. Now, go!”

                Jimin took his stance and you ran towards him, using the sweep that he had first taught you. He stepped aside and struck at your back, fazing you for a moment. You turned around and swung blindly, breaking your stance for a moment as you felt your staff connect with Jimin’s arm.

                “Yes!” You shouted in triumph. “One to one!”

                He grinned, jabbing his staff into your stomach, causing you to stumble back. “Not anymore, slowpoke! If you didn’t speak so much, maybe you’d have a better chance!”

                You nodded, pursing your lips and concentrating fully on fighting.

                Jimin swung again and you jumped aside quickly, slicing towards his stomach. He spun around, moving gracefully as he avoided your staff.

                You watched in awe as he glided with angel-like movements and practically flew across the room, landing in a defensive stance once again. He smirked at you, motioning for you to take the offensive side of the duel.

                You mimicked his stance, waiting for him to attack first.

                A stalemate, he had called it. It’s when neither of you want to make a move, and one of you will have to try to attack if you want anything to happen.

                This time, you wanted Jimin to take the offensive. He had said that your defense was strong, and you wanted to challenge and see exactly how strong it was, or if Jimin had just been polite to you.

                He obliged to your silent challenge, stepping forward and swinging his staff quickly.

                You held up yours to block his, and-

                Crack.

                Your staff broke, wood splintering loudly, and his collided with your side painfully. You flew backwards, letting out a yell in pain and shock.

                Jimin watched with his eyes wide as you fell to the ground, clutching your side and groaning in pain. “Oh my gosh, are you okay?” He gasped, dropping his weapon and running to your side.

                Your side flared up in pain with every small movement, making you wince. You nodded, grimacing. “I- It’s just a bit painful. I’m sure it’s nothing, Jimin!”

                He looked worried nonetheless. He lifted up your tank top softly, his face paling as he saw the damage. “Y- Your side… It’s all red, oh my gosh… I’m so sorry! This is all my fault!”

                You looked down, black spots swimming in front of your eyes as you saw the damage. Your side had already begun to bruise, leaving it purple and pink.  “It’s fine, Jimin!”

                He shook his head, continuing to panic. “Ugh, I’m sorry! I- I shouldn’t have been using my full strength… I should have known that it would hurt you… I’m sorry!”

                You winced as he touched your side tenderly. “Just… Get something for it, please!”

                He nodded and ran off, the door slamming as his footsteps pounded through the otherwise empty halls.

                You breathed heavily, straining your muscles to not move. It burned, the light pink shade turning to red the bruise as you waited for Jimin to come back. It burned, leaving you barely able to suppress a scream of pain.

                Finally, after what felt like hours, Jimin returned with a healing gel, pain medicine, bandages, and an ice pack. His eyebrows continued to furrow with worry as he knelt down next to you, setting everything down.

                You winced as he spread the gel across your torso softly, muttering apology after apology as he did so.

                “Jimin, stop apologizing already! I- I just need you to make it stop hurting, okay?”

                He nodded hastily. “Of course, I’m sorry… I’m- never mind.” He applied the bandages and pulled your top down again, his face red. He placed the ice pack over your stomach, and your hand over that. “Is that comfortable?”

                You nodded, sighing as the pain lessened slightly. You wrapped your arms around his neck. “Jimin, carry me to my room, okay? I- It’s late anyways…”

                He nodded, picking you up and moving your head to rest in the crook of his neck.

                You closed your eyes, resting in his arms. You could feel his veins pulsing softly, distracting you from the pain momentarily. It was fast, like a metronome at Allegro. You smiled softly, listening to the beat.

                You startled when Jimin set you down, looking up in shock. He sat down next to you, handing you the glass of water you kept by your nightstand along with painkillers. “Here…”

                You took a sip of water and swallowed the pills, looking up at Jimin.

                His lips twitched into a frown as he looked back down at your torso. “I- I really, I didn’t mean to hurt you, please don’t hate me…”

                You frowned, patting the spot next to you on the bed. He sat down, avoiding your gaze. “Jimin.”

                “Y- Yes…?”

                “Jimin, I will never hate you. I can’t hate you. You’re- I can’t hate you, okay?”

                He nodded, still avoiding your gaze. “Okay…”

                “Seriously, Jimin! I-”

                “Kiss me.” He blurted out.

                The room felt silent. You suddenly became aware of his every movement. His arms wrapped around yours, the way his eyes darted to look at you and then back away, his lips curving into an impassive expression.

                “Wh- What?”

                He looked away, mumbling slightly. “I- I won, didn’t I? The fight. And that’s what I want as my reward. Just once, please?”

                Your heart sped up slightly as you looked up at him, eyes widening. He looked away. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have asked that…”

                “N- No, it’s fine! A deal is a deal, right?” You blushed and looked up. “I’ll keep this deal.”

                You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him closer until your lips connected with his. His arms wrapped around your sides, avoiding your injury, and pulling you closer. He pressed into the kiss, closing his eyes and parting your lips with his softly.

                You had always imagined that kissing somebody you liked would leave butterflies in your stomach and fireworks in your heart, but this was the exact opposite. It felt as if a sea of calm had washed over your mind, stilling any and all of your worries. Even the ever-so-present threat of The Heiress seemed like just a bad dream here in his embrace.

                “Hey, I-“ Yoongi’s voice drifted in from the doorway. Jimin broke away from the kiss, looking over with his eyes still half-lidded.

                Your face grew red as you saw Yoongi, gaping at you and Jimin from the hall, his hand resting on the door he had pushed open. His face contorted into a sly smirk.

                “Well, what do we have here?” He looked over, his gaze landing on yours. “It looks like we need to have a word.”