ODDS OF SURVIVAL - TAEKOOK

CHAPTERELEVEN

There was a time when Taehyung reveled in Jungkook's little outbursts and fits of rage. It was irritating when they were destructive, of course, but even so he saw them as a sign of weakness.

Jungkook, who looked so big and strong, who seemed so confident and entitled, who wore his odd assembly of facial features like they were distinctions rather than flaws, had this one weakness that Taehyung could always exploit.

It made Taehyung feel like, despite all the ways his subconscious insisted Jungkook was better than him, this weakness proved he was still superior.

Jungkook might be confident and strong, but with only a few words Taehyung could send him spiraling out of control.

So between the two of them, who had the real strength?

It proved that no matter how strong Jungkook was, Taehyung was stronger, and he basked in that feeling of power. That was before, though.

Over these past several weeks- months? Had it been more than two months yet? He'd lost track- he'd begun to hate Jungkook's explosive temper.

The difference was that he counted on Jungkook now. There was no sense in trying to deny it anymore.

He trusted Jungkook with his life, depended on him to watch his back and give him protection when he needed it. He no longer feared that Jungkook might physically harm him, but he needed Jungkook to be reliable and keep control of himself.

If Jungkook abandoned him or got himself killed, Taehyung would be completely on his own. He'd never trust anyone else.

Especially not after-...after what happened the day before. But

those men were going to kill Jungkook. He'd had to do it. He'd had to-

He stopped what he was doing and pressed the heels of his hands hard against his eyes, trying to stop the memory of it from hitting him again.

It was over. It was done and couldn't be changed. Fretting over it now would do him no good. He was alive, and Jungkook was alive, and that was all that mattered.

But Jungkook was gone, now, and that was the problem. He'd committed murder in order to keep from losing Jungkook, but he was still gone all the same.

He was well aware of his habit to constantly pick at Jungkook's defenses and push him over the edge, but he'd been holding back more and more and he thought things might actually be improving between them.

But that morning Jungkook flew completely off the handle and Taehyung wasn't even sure why.

All he'd done was go outside without his gun because he couldn't bear to look at the deadly thing at the moment, and Jungkook acted like it had been a personal attack against him. And Jungkook had never been so angry that he left before.

That was the part that frightened him the most.

Was he coming back? Had he finally given up and abandoned Taehyung, right after Taehyung had saved his life? After what Taehyung had done to save his life?

Maybe that was the real reason Jungkook had left. Maybe after all the fighting and all things they'd been through, murder was the final straw. The one thing Jungkook couldn't forgive, even though it had only been done for the sake of his survival.

Taehyung started to wonder if he should have done something different. He could have shot those men in the arm or the leg instead of going straight for the kill. That might have sent them on the run and made them spare Jungkook, but it may not have.

They may have still killed Jungkook, and then come after him. Or they may have had more people who would have come running to back them up. But even if he had shot to injure, if they had given up and let Jungkook live, would a debilitating injury like that have been anything less than a death sentence, anyway?