Beyond Repair (Min Yoongi) [UPDATED]

38. Words I Thought I'd Choke On

Namjoon ran his fingers through Jungkook's hair with one hand while Jungkook absently played with the fingers of his other hand. He could tell his youngest boyfriend had something on his mind (if his earlier request to speak specifically with Namjoon hadn't been enough of an indication, the boy's pout did the trick), but Jungkook had spent the last several minutes in pensive silence.

That was okay, though. Namjoon was patient. He'd wait as long as Jungkook needed to get whatever it was off his chest.

Jungkook let out a soft sigh, and if Namjoon didn't know him well enough, he would've thought it was contentment. The two of them were currently splayed out on Jungkook's bed with the younger lying face-down on top of him, resting his head on Namjoon's chest (one of Jungkook's top three favorite cuddling positions when it was just the two of them), and Namjoon knew how much Jungkook loved having his hair played with—it was the biggest factor in his decision to grow it out. When alone or working on something, Jungkook put his hair up in ponytails or used a headband to keep it out of his face. However, whenever he was with any of his boyfriends, he loved letting his hair down and letting them card their fingers through it. He was much like Jimin in that way. It was one of the fastest ways to calm Jungkook down when he was overwhelmed and Namjoon had no idea why he didn't more often take advantage of it.

But Namjoon could sense something else behind the breath that huffed past his lips. Jungkook shifted in Namjoon's arms and eventually sat up entirely, sitting back on his heels between Namjoon's legs and staring at his chest with wide, tearful eyes.

"Oh, darling," Namjoon sighed in equal parts empathetic heartache and helpless adoration, bringing a hand up to cup the side of Jungkook's face.

"'M sorry," Jungkook said between pitiful sniffles.

"What? Why?" Namjoon asked, growing more concerned.

"I upset you."

Namjoon blinked, shook his head, and let out an awkward half-laugh. "No, you didn't. Why would you think that?"

"You only use that tone when I'm stressing you out," Jungkook muttered.

Namjoon gave him a sad smile, though Jungkook was still looking down so he didn't know if he noticed it. "I'm sorry, love. I'm not upset and you're not stressing me out. I'm just wondering what's going on in that pretty head of yours."

A surge of affection swelled in Namjoon's chest when Jungkook looked back up at his face, revealing a sheepish smile shining out between rosy cheeks. The only signs of his previous distress were the tears still glistening in his eyes. Namjoon loved that even after all these years together, Jungkook still looked up to him enough that it was this easy to get him flustered.

"Joonieee..." Jungkook dragged out, covering his face with his hands.

"Don't hide, gorgeous." Namjoon grabbed Jungkook's wrists and held his hands out of the way so he could shower little kisses all over his cheeks and nose and forehead, chuckling in amusement when Jungkook squirmed and softly giggled. "Just talk to me. I won't bite...unless you want me to."

Jungkook groaned, his cheeks reddening even more. "You're making it too hard to think right now, let alone talk," he complained.

"Sorry," Namjoon chuckled. He turned Jungkook's hand over and kissed the back of his palm before placing Jungkook's hand on his chest where his head had rested when he was lying on him. Jungkook sniffed another bunny-toothed grin and Namjoon smiled right back at him, taking a moment to plant one more peck on the tip of Jungkook's nose. "Take your time. I'm here to listen whenever you're ready."

Jungkook shifted to sit on his butt, folding his legs and shoving his hands under his knees. He then shoved his tongue against the side of his cheek before making several popping noises with his lips.