DAY 789
He sighs and raps on her door. It's been two days since the Behemoth encounter at the grocery store. Regardless of two whole days passing, Y/n hasn't come out of her room since. Apparently Jungkook's been bringing food to her and trying to cheer her up, but it's not working. If Jimin's being honest: he's scared. Terrified is the better word. Terrified that something happened to her while on the mission. Did she get bit? If she did, she would've turned by now, but in some rare cases the infection can take two days to spread. Does she feel bad for setting off the trap? Jimin knows that's the most likely option. That's why he's here.
"Come in," a muffled voice replies. He enters, the door creaking as it moves. Jimin's eyes fall to her pitiful form, sighing once he sees the way she's curled up in her blankets, her back facing him. "Jungkook, I don't need any snacks. Thanks for thinking of me, but I'm not hungry."
Jimin closes the door behind him. "Good thing I'm not Jungkook then." Y/n's quick to snap around, sitting up with wide eyes. Jimin raises both his brows. "Surprised to see me?"
"Very," she replies.
He's not sure if the look in her eyes is anger, longing, sadness, or all three. For now he'll assume all three. "May I sit?"
"I'm surprised you want to," she says, averting her eyes.
"Y/n, please look at me." She doesn't. He comes closer, kneeling in front of her and placing his hand on her leg. "Y/n, please." She gives in, bringing her eyes back to his. He smiles and pokes at the braid in his hair. "Does it look like I want to see you in pain? I've only carried two people around with me every day: myself and my brother." She strokes the braid, a smile cracking through to the surface of her face. "And now I carry you. It may not be much, but a braid done by you means a lot to me. My nails are holding up strong too, even after killing zombies. That's one helluva top coat you used."
She laughs, shaking her head. "I got it at a pharmacy, can't be that good."
"It's good enough for me," he whispers, giving her a look of admiration.
Y/n returns it, then, she pats the space next to her. He sits, their eyes both falling to the ground. They sit side-by-side for a few minutes. One minute passes, then two, then three. Finally when they hit five minutes, he makes a move. Jimin picks up her hand and entwines it with his. She lets out a breath at the touch.
"Jimin..."
"I'm sorry about what I said. If I'm being honest, I said it because I do trust you. I don't know why, I doubt I ever fucking will, but I haven't trusted anyone in so long that it scared me. I thought that pushing you away was the best option to stop myself from getting hurt." He licks his lower lip, turning to face her. She does the same. "But Y/n, I realize being scared is the last thing I want to do. I'm so sorry about what I said. I'll say it as many times as you want me to. Me showing you my locket was me trusting you. It was, and I'm sorry for making you feel it was anything but that."
She absorbs his words, then nods. "I forgive you. I'm the one who should be sorry."
Jimin scoots closer and places his free hand on her cheek, making their eyes connect. "For what?" he asks.
"The grocery store, I set off that trap that could've got us killed. Hell, look at you, you're taking painkillers aren't you?"
"My back hurts, yeah, but it's nothing that won't heal. I'm worried about you," he says, rubbing his thumb back and forth on her cheek. "I don't want to see you like this. No one is harmed, no one is bit, and we got food. That mission was a success in my eyes, okay? Please stop drowning in self-pity. We need you, Y/n. I do too."
She manages a smile, placing her hand over his. He smiles with her, the two staring. Oh lord, it's happening again. He's falling into her eyes, not to sound dramatic. The beautiful depth hers hold makes him fall for her. It's the truth. Maybe it's not loneliness after all. He comes a bit closer, placing his forehead on hers and brushing her hair out of her face. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," he murmurs before he can stop himself. "Apocalypse or not, that's the truth." She goes still, her breath coming out soft and slow. "Y/n," he mutters, starting to close the distance...
'BANG'
"Y/n L/n I'm done letting you- Oh." Jimin and Y/n snap apart, glancing up in time to see Jungkook standing there with astonishment resting in his expression. "Oh okay, I see I'm interrupting something, I'll be back later."
"Too late, you already killed the mood," Jimin replies with a chuckle, his ears turning pink. "Might as well come in now. What were you going to say?"
Jungkook, a little reluctantly, closes the door behind him and scratches the back of his neck. "I was gonna say that I'm done letting her sulk in her room alone. She needs cuddles."
"I can provide," Jimin says. Truthfully, he didn't mean to say it, but there's no turning back now.
The best friend blinks a few times. "Uh, I give the best cuddles. Sorry, no one knows her like me. Scoot," Jungkook says. Jimin hesitates before doing so, letting Jungkook sit next to Y/n.
The two friends go for each other right away, hugging and staying close. "Should I go?" Jimin asks.
"You can stay," Y/n's quick to reply. "But don't get in the way of our affection."
"Sheesh alright, wouldn't dream of it. I should probably go check on Ves though, don't you think?"
"Sure, go ahead." Jimin stands, taking her hand and giving it a cute squeeze. A little reminder that she's special to him. Such a stupid, small gesture: but it's enough for both of them. Jimin trots away, reaching the door seconds later. "Jimin?" Y/n's soft voice calls.
He turns to peek at her from over his shoulder. "Yeah?"
Her smile widens. "Thank you." Jungkook glances between the two, deciding against questioning Jimin and Y/n's newfound closeness. Probably for the best.
"You're welcome. Take care of yourself, okay?"
When she agrees, he saunters out, closing the door behind him so no one interrupts the two best buddies that are cuddling. Is it strange that Jimin's a bit jealous of them? Not of Jungkook, but of the closeness they have. Jimin wants that closeness with her. He's not really jealous of Jungkook, more like the position he has in her life. Jimin wants that. He groans. Why can't he understand his feelings?
His fingers brush over the braid as he treks down the hall, going to the front yard. His nails are still black. Isn't that crazy? Somehow his nails have held up. Jimin finds himself smiling as soon as the light from the sun hits him. So Y/n and him made up, he has good nails and a braid in his hair, and he's about to look for the little man that's surprisingly cool. Jimin really likes Ves, and more than because Ves is a kid. Yeah, Jimin still has a soft spot for kids. Despite that, he likes Ves for a different reason.
Speaking of the kid, Ves is in the front yard speaking with Fiona and her husband, Louis. The two archers of the place. Jimin approaches, glancing around at the other people. Funny how he hasn't met them yet. He knows Katherine, Jungkook, Sky, Ves, Y/n, Namjoon, Jin, Hoseok, Fiona, and Louis. That's about it if he's remembering correctly. Ten out of twenty-nine. Well there's thirty total members, but he's not counting himself. There's more people to get to know. He doesn't have time for that right now though.
Ves beams upon seeing Jimin. "I didn't eat the Hershey bar in one bite."
"Oh really? I don't know if I believe you," Jimin says.
Ves pouts, bringing out a wrapper from his back pocket. "See? I still have two pieces left. I've been breaking them apart and eating them slowly."
Jimin kneels, looking at the proof. "Well, the way I see it, I think you've done a good job preserving it. Go ahead kiddo, eat the last two bites." The kid giggles and breaks off a piece, chomping it down right away while Fiona and Louis watch with a grin. Jimin does the same. That is until Ves grabs the last piece and hands it to him. Jimin raises a brow. "Whatcha doing, lil man?"
"You gave it to me, the least I can do is give you a single piece," he says.
Jimin's heartstrings are touched to say the least. He chuckles and ruffles Ves's hair, a habit he's starting to pick up, before taking the last piece. "Thanks Ves, that means a lot," he says. Ves does a cute bounce, encouraging Jimin to eat the chocolate.
He does, making sure to savor every flavor that bursts into his mouth. Ah, chocolate. So simple yet so amazing at the same time. When he swallows, he places a gentle hand on Ves's shoulder to show his thanks. Seconds later, he stands to face Fiona and Louis. "How's everything looking?" he asks them.
"About as good as expected," Fiona replies with a shrug, brushing her hair back. Jimin notes a scar on her neck, amazed by the length of it. Normally her hair hides the nasty white flesh that stands out like a sore thumb. Jimin's lips twitch down by a few centimeters, but she doesn't notice it.
"Go lay down, hon," Louis says, placing a hand on her elbow.
She tries to fight a yawn. "In a minute. I should clean the arrowheads we used today."
"I'll do it," Louis replies, his dark skin shimmering in the sunlight.
"How about Ves and I clean them," Jimin says. "That way you can lay down together, hm?"
Louis and Fiona share a look, then nod. "Do you know how?" Louis asks.
Jimin goes still. Survivor for over two years... but he can't clean arrows. "Uhhhhh." At his slur, Fiona and Louis chuckle.
"I'll give him an example, you go to bed," Louis says.
"I'll see you in a minute then," Fiona says.
They say their goodbyes, Fiona striding away. Jimin makes sure she gets safely inside the building before turning back to the other two people there. Louis takes note of his wandering eyes. "How long were you out there alone?" Louis asks.
"You know, I've been asked that so many times that I don't even know what the answer is anymore," Jimin says, sighing. "I want the answer to be 'not that long', but in reality it's 'too long'. Deep down, it feels like not long enough."
"I'm sorry that happened to you. You're safe here. We won't let anything happen to you, and I know it probably doesn't mean much, but I'll do my best to make sure nothing happens to you personally."
"Why?"
"You saved my girl on that scavenger run, she told me all about it. Not to mention she seems to like you, and if Fi likes you this early, you can't be that bad." The older man chuckles. "Oh, and are we forgetting you made sure she got inside okay? Not many do that."
"Instinct," Jimin says. "Howler attack happened to one of my groups. Someone got torn apart on their way back to the main camp, but since no one was paying attention, poor guy got ripped to shreds before he could scream to alert the others. That was one of the worst nights of my life."
"How'd you get away?"
Jimin peers at the bow set up on the table in front of him. The memory of the ranch comes rushing back to him, his heartbeat increasing. "I don't know," he whispers.
Louis gets the message and backs off. "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve it. Let's move on to something else, yeah? How about cleaning arrows?"
Ves, who was awkwardly listening the whole time, steps forward. "Let's do it."
The archer demonstrates cleaning arrows, the process easy enough. Nothing too difficult. Five minutes later, Louis is gone, leaving Ves and Jimin alone to clean the several arrows used. It's silent at first, neither of them knowing what to say. Then, Ves clears his throat. "Do you remember when the apocalypse started?" Ves asks.
"Like it was yesterday. I was with my family, just relaxing. Next thing I knew, my life changed forever. Now I'm here." Jimin turns to Ves. "Do you remember?"
Ves almost looks like he's about to cry. He grips the arrow tighter, keeping his eyes on it. "Not at all," he says. "I remember pictures. Some flashes of memories. That's it." For a kid, he has a big vocabulary. Maybe Y/n's to thank for that. "I remember being here to learn, but my parents never came for me when the apocalypse started. They left without even checking in."
"Why do you trust Y/n enough to be like your mom?" Jimin asks. It's a tough question, but it's one that's been eating him up inside ever since he got here.
"I shut down for months. I thought my parents didn't love me. Then Y/n showed up and was the only one who tried to get me to come out of my room. She brought me food every day and tucked me in to sleep, reading me bedtime stories too. She didn't give up. It took a few months, but I ended up trusting her more than I trust anyone."
Jimin finishes cleaning an arrow, glancing down at Ves. "That's actually pretty inspirational."
Ves's face erupts with bliss. "Maybe."
"Definitely," Jimin says. Ves shifts in time for Jimin to kneel, and Jimin places both his hands on Ves's shoulders, looking into his eyes. "You didn't deserve what you went through. Please never think that you did. I hope you know that whenever you need help, your mom and I are here for you, okay? I'll do my best to stay by your side." Ves laughs at that, Jimin's face falling. "What's so funny?"
"Oh nothing." Ves sighs, a glint of amusement flaring up in his eyes. "I just find it funny how I'll be calling you dad soon."