Beautifully Flawed

18. Strawberries & Roses

Soul meets soul on lovers’ lips
—

He came to the next morning around eight o’clock. His stomach growled indicating his hunger. He sat up and the abrupt movement made his headache come on too strong. He reached out to rub his forehead and an unimaginable pain shot through him. He winced and lowered his hand. Why did it hurt?

“Wait, how did I get into bed?” he asked out loud as he looked at the extra large t-shirt covering his slender frame. Better yet, how did he even get back home? The last thing he remembered was being at the restaurant – at the launch. Everything else was fragmented bits and pieces. “What happened last night?” he asked again in his husky fresh-from-sleep voice. His throat felt dry and scratchy. Did he have too much to drink? He wondered and brushed his fingers through his hair trying to tame the unruly curls on his head.

Trying to remember it all made his head hurt like hell. And for a while he just sat still – not wanting to tax his brain of thing of anything. Then like a flood everything came back – the encounter with Dae-Hyun at the restaurant and the events that took place in the bathroom. He balled his fists in ager. The action send a throbing pain through his fist. It hurt. He looked at his hand and realized his knuckles were slightly bruised. He remembered punching the bastard. He closed his eyes as if to block all of it out.

The fuzzy memory of Jungkook repeatedly punching an unconscious Dae-Hyun into the floor made its way to the front of his mind. The bleeding face, the stain of blood on the bathroom floor, the bruised knuckles of his love and the sickening crunch of a breaking nose replayed in his mind and only one thing registered. Panic. His mind went into overdrive as it started to grasp at the pieces in his fragmented mind in a effort to remember what happened afterwards.

He remembered Jungkook’s eyes as he punched the sucker. They were like a knife in someone's ribs, the sharp point digging deeper. The customary warmth in them gone faster than summer rain on the tarmac. Those eyes that looked like they carried the entire universe had an emptiness, but not in any vulnerable sense – raw anger. His growl was accompanied by deliberate slow punches. Jimin had never seen this side of him and it scared him. He knew deep down that that anger would never be directed at him. That kind of anger only served to protect. Then for a split second – just a split second – he wondered if he had killed the moron. That thought had him jumping out of bed. The tangled blankets on his feet caused him to miss his footing and he went crushing unceremoniously into the ground with a thud.

Jungkook who was in the kitchen heard the thump and scream that followed afterwards and he was up the stairs in no time. His heart pounded through his chest with the fear that maybe – just maybe Dae-Hyun had made his way into their home. He rushed into the room in a panic to find Jimin face down on the floor cursing.

"Babe!" He called frantically. "Are you okay?" He asked running beside Jimin to help him up.

An embarrassed Jimin brought his hands to his face and covered his eyes. A heavy blush made its way over his face. Well, this was embarrassing.

"What happened?" Jungkook asked as he helped the slender framed boy up.

"I just missed my footing is al," He said in embarrassment. He rubbed his aching elbow. "I was rushing out to look for you," he admitted.

As he tried to steady himself a pain shot through his ankle and he let out a pained scream. Could it get any worse? He felt Jungkook's strong arms lift him off the ground and place him on the bed.

“I am prescribing bed rest for you,” he commanded. “Let me get some ice for your ankle," he said as he propped Jimin against the headboard with enough pillows to mimic a cloud of comfort.

Back with the ice wrapped in a thin towel and some ointment, Jungkook placed the ice on his ankle and gently massaged it in this way and that. Jimin watched him quietly, searching his face. This face he liked – the warmth on it, the tenderness that it emitted was a complete contrast of what he had seen the previous night. It was like looking at a whole new person.

Jungkook could feel Jimin's piercing gaze. He tried to remain composed because in every way Jimin’s gaze always unnerved him.

"You are scary when you are angry," Jimin said breaking the silence.

He nodded, "I know," he acknowledged and continued to massage his foot.

"You know? It scared me shitless seeing you like that last night," Jimin continued. "That was... I mean... I...."

"You are wondering what would happen if I got angry at you right? Wondering if I would react in the same way?" He asked the questions that Jimin did not have the courage to ask. Jimin felt like he had read his mind. He regretted having those thoughts but to say that he wasn't afraid would be a lie. He had once been a victim of someone’s anger and he was not about to have a repeat of the same. He nodded.

Jungkook paused. He situated himself and pulled Jimin into his lap, with his hand below his chin he directed his gaze into his eyes. "Jimin, he was hurting someone I truly care about. That is not something I could not stand for. But I have to promise you this too, no matter how much you rile me up, I will never be mad at you to that point of anger. We will have our disagreements but they wouldn't be anything we can't talk about. I don't want to ever go to bed mad at you. So, put your pretty little head to rest. The person you saw yesterday will never resurface again. Well… unless someone is hurting what's mine."

"What's yours? So am I yours?" Jimin asked teasingly. He secretly liked when the gorgeous male before him staked his claim over him.

Their eyes locked. Did he really need answer? Jimin smiled and he wrapped his hands around his neck. Slowly he leaned down and planted a kiss on his lips. It was a simple kiss. Their lips brushed against each other innocently – not teasing but sincere – it expressed sincerity and appreciation for the fact the Jungkook was in his life. He wanted to tell Jungkook through that kiss that he was his world. Jimin went to pull away before he could lose himself but he couldn’t seem to. Jungkook pulled him in for deeper kiss. It was hot, fiery, passionate and demanding. In that minty moment, his senses had been seduced and he could no longer think straight.