Of course, he acted calm over the phone with Taehyung. And he was calm. Now. But when it had happened Yoongi just about had a mental breakdown.
He had been in the kitchen, searching through the fridge for the iced coffee he had from earlier that day that he never finished. After coming across it and taking it from the fridge, Yoongi turned around and was met with the alarming sight of Jimin leaning slightly over the edge of the couch, fluids spilling from his mouth.
It wasn't much and lasted about two seconds but it came without warning and drained Yoongi's face entirely.
Fearful Jimin wasn't done, he grabbed the small trash can beside the kitchen counter and rushed it out to the boy on the couch, who shook his head as Yoongi held the can in front of him.
"I'm good." He spit in the can anyway. "I think that was the nausea finally making its escape."
"B-but, I-..." Yoongi heaved a breath of exasperation and glanced at the carpet. Blue - only a little bit, but it stood out and made him feel nauseous. He returned his gaze anxiously to the blond. "J-...Jimin, that's, that's, you threw up blood, oh my gosh, are you okay-?"
Jimin made a discomforted face at this and slowly pushed the trash can away. "I didn't throw up blood," he said. "I bit my tongue really bad a minute ago, that's what bled..."
To prove his claims, Jimin opened his mouth for a second and lifted his tongue, which Yoongi could now see truly had been bleeding. He winced. "That must have hurt." Sympathetic eyes met the other boy's. "You should have said something..."
"I was gonna, but then my stomach decided to..."
"I'll get you some water." Yoongi stood up, then glanced at the carpet again. "And clean this up."
"I'm sorry, Yoongi..."
"Which one of us got hit by a car again?"
Jimin paused. "...me."
"Which one of us got a sprained arm?"
"...me."
"Which one of us has a broken rib?"
"...also me."
"Right. Conversation over."
Feeling proud of himself, Yoongi set the trash can on the floor and made his way back over to the kitchen to retrieve both water and cleaning supplies - the latter of which Taehyung didn't have much of in his apartment. Luckily, there was some sort of cleaning spray and some rags, which Yoongi grabbed and balanced under his arm while he retrieved a water bottle from the fridge.
"Here."
Soon he held the bottle out to Jimin, who stared at Yoongi with an inscrutable expression before accepting it.
"Something wrong?"
"No," Jimin said under his breath. "You've changed and haven't changed at all."
At this, Yoongi laughed a little, kneeling down to clean the carpet. "Meaning?"
"You're still so sweet, and...beautiful, but you're not shy around me anymore."
"Oh, I still feel kinda shy," he said in a reassuring manner, meeting Jimin's eyes for a second. "You can't blame me. Suddenly finding out someone like you was my boyfriend? I mean, c'mon."
Jimin made a face at the comment. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Noticing the genuine, innocent look of confusion on Jimin's face, Yoongi sat back on his heels, tilted his head to one side and raised his eyebrows at the blond. "Jimin." He paused as if for dramatic effect. "Honestly. You got hit by a car, you just threw up on Tae's carpet, and you're still gorgeous. Way out of my league." He laughed again, spraying a bit of the cleaning liquid on the rag he had brought over before sweeping it across the stain on the floor. Regrettably, Yoongi had taken a few babysitting jobs in high school despite it not being ideal, and cleaning up after children was something he had done more than a few times. So to him, this was just another one of those jobs.
But a bit more tolerable, because it was his boyfriend.
"Out of your league??"
The response came late but drew an immediate chuckle from Yoongi. "Yeah," he said in agreement. "It's not really in character for me to gush about anyone's looks but Tae's, but you're...actually, probably the most attractive boy I've ever seen. You're gorgeous. My best friend and my boyfriend are the prettiest people in the world, how'd I get so lucky-"
"Yoongi..."
"Can I ask something?"
Although plainly still upset over the matter, Jimin gave a small nod. Yoongi smiled.
"Okay, so, where on earth did the nickname 'Sugabear' come from?" He asked, amused, but the faintest blush appeared on his cheeks. "Won't lie to you, kind of embarrassing, but I'm curious where that came from?"
It seemed to evoke a strong, fond memory in the blond. He didn't answer at first, instead staring deeply into the other's face even though Yoongi was currently looking at the floor. "It was kind of a joke at first," Jimin said, not missing the way the corner of Yoongi's lip curled upward. "It started out as a conversation about pet names, and...I teased you about it for a while and began calling you every possible one I could think of, and for some reason 'Sugabear' stuck. You thought it was embarrassing then, too. Said it sounded like something your aunt would call you."
"It really does. But I guess it's cute." He shrugged. "Did I call you anything embarrassing?"
"Not really."
"Ah, that's right." Yoongi nodded in understanding. "I was but a shy baby, yes?"
Jimin had to bite his lip to stop his grin from breaking through. "Yes," he said. "The shiest baby. But I loved you."
"Loved?"
"Love." He corrected himself without hesitation. "I still do."
"Good. Just making sure." Yoongi's smile was even softer now, sweet, familiar, that familiar smile that made Jimin's heart feel like it was resting on a bed of butterflies. "You gotta let me fall in love with you again. I mean, I'm already on my way. You're good at this. How long did it take the first time?"
"Uh..." Jimin had to stop to think for a moment. "Technically," he began, "ten years. We met when we were both six. You confessed to me after your sophomore graduation ceremony."
"And yours?"
"I was homeschooled."
"Ah." Another nod of understanding. "And I was the first to confess? Did shy boy Yoongi actually have mad game??"
Now this triggered a real laugh, not a mere giggle or stifled laugh, but a somewhat high-pitched noise of joy that caused Jimin's body to shake and Yoongi to go on full-alert mode.
"J-Jimin, your ribs..." He raised his hands so as to steady the boy. "Please be careful-"
"Your fault." Jimin pried open his now watery eyes to see a pale-faced Yoongi failing to stop his laughing fit. It was stopped soon, anyway, though. The sharp pain in the area above Jimin's stomach put it to an abrupt end. He wrapped his arm around himself, then drew in a deep breath, and one more.
"Jimin...h-hey, Jimin, are you okay??"
"Yeah." He needed a moment to allow the air to settle in his unhappy lungs. "Good, I'm good." Feeling Yoongi grasp his hand tenderly, his body seemed to calm all on its own. The pain subsided. "My miracle worker, I love you," he blurted. Yoongi's blush returned.
"Well, that's good." As if his own breathing had been affected, he placed a hand over his chest and sighed. "Don't scare me like that...I told you to be careful, how many times am I going to have to remind you that you were hit my a car?"
"Ten times is enough, I think I'm good..."
"You better be..."
By now Yoongi had managed to clean up the stain on the floor, with but a small yet noticeable hint of blue having stayed behind in the rug.
"You sure you're feeling okay, Jimin...?"
"I don't feel nauseous anymore," the boy replied. His voice now was soft and sleepy.
"Tired?"
"Yeah..."
"Good. You need as much rest as you can get. I'm gonna give Tae a call, so I'll be right over in the kitchen if you need me, okay, Jimin?"
"Okay, Sugabear..."
He gave in to the eyes. Without Jimin verbally asking for it, Yoongi felt the sudden urge to kiss his forehead before leaving his side.
"Sleep well, Muffin-pie."
"Ugh, Yoongi, don't make me laugh, it hurts..."
*
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end of chapter thirty-two.