Enjoy!💜 Also, is anyone else here a fan of Ariana?
XXXI: Jungkook
Voices rise and fall around me, gentle and worried.
I want so badly to open my eyes and tell them I'll be fine, but my voice fails me. I can't move. I can't think. I'm in too much pain to do anything else rather than let my body go limp. A cool hand coaxes my mouth open and pours liquid down my throat. For a few minutes, my pain dulls. But it's still there, prowling at the gates of my mind, waiting to be let in. And when it does, it's even sharper than before, making me cry out.
"Ssh," A gentle hand caresses my forehead and I whimper. I know this voice. It's the voice that's stayed with me constantly throughout all this pain. Urging me on when I need strength and saying such sweet words that curl around me with the warmth of a mother's arms. "Just rest, my love. The pain will be over soon." Over? How can he say it with such confidence? And rest? I want to laugh if the simple action didn't hurt so much. The pain never rests, never takes a break. And I'm forced to suffer along with it.
The hand leaves my forehead, and I make a noise of protest. I turn my head to the side, biting back a gasp as fiery pain lashes through my body. Instead, the hand clasps over mine, and I feel a pair of soft lips brush my palm.
"You're so strong Jungkook," the voice murmurs. "So brave. You'll survive this. Don't give in to the pain."
"It hurts," I gasp out without opening my eyes. "Everything hurts. I-I can't anymore..."
"You can do it," The voice soothes. "I'll be by your side the whole time. You won't be alone. You'll never be alone. Just keep listening to my voice. Fight the darkness, my love. I know you can do it."
My love. Two words that makes my heart flutter in the midst of pain. I love hearing it, knowing that someone is looking at me with love in their eyes. Perhaps even now, while I was battling this burning pain in my body. I must look like a mess, with sweaty hair, and clothes that stick to my skin. Yet this person still loved me. He still ran a gentle hand through my hair and whispered caring words into my ear. In that moment, I feel a burst of happiness envelop me, making me forget about the pain for a split second.
"Taehyung," Another voice cuts through my sleep, this one a bit anxious. "You've been sitting there the whole day. I know how you feel, but take a rest. I'll take over in the meantime."
I feel the hand holding mine tighten, and the voice changes, becoming deeper, and somewhat darker. "I'm not moving, Jin. You heard me. I'm going to stay by his side. I don't care how long it takes. He will recover."
"Of course," The man Jin says, though I hear a hint of doubt in his words. "But it won't help anyone if you collapse from exhaustion after Jungkook recovers. Come on Tae, at least eat something."
"Go," I rasp, "I'll be fine. You should do as he says."
"Baby, no―"
"Go." The last thing I want right now is for someone else to become sick just because they cared for me. "Please. For me."
I can tell that he doesn't like it, but I hear the fabric of his tunic rustle as he stands, and a moment later, his lips find my cheek. Even through my fever, I feel the warmth of it spread through my body. "I'll be back as soon as I can." He says, and despite myself, I smile. I hear his footsteps slowly walk towards the door, and the small click of the handle as it unlocked. I also hear Jin say something quietly to Taehyung before the door closes, but I don't waste my time trying to figure it out. Thinking just hurts my brain more than it already does. A tired, long sigh from Jin fills the room, and footsteps walk over to my bedside.
"You're right, Jungkook," Jin says, and I feel another cool cloth being put on my head. It sends a cold shock through my body, but the shock only lasts for a fleeting second before the pain returns. "You'll be just fine. Do you hear me? You're going to be up in no time." I don't miss the way his voice wobbles at the end, or how the sadness in his voice doesn't match his words.
I knew I wasn't fine. It was my body, after all. I had already been made to drink tens of different medicines. None did anything to stop the flow of pain consuming me. It was weakening me, breaking me little by little until it found a way to shatter me whole. And it would. Eventually. No matter what the voice said, I can tell that I don't have it in me to fight off the gathering darkness in my mind for long. It was now only a matter of time before everything went black. Before I gave into the tantalizing feeling of release.
I was dying.
XXXI: Taehyung
The moment I leave the healing center, I want to turn the door handle and go straight back in. But Jin must have been expecting that, because no sooner had I stepped outside, Lisa is there with a bowl of food in her hands.
"Eat," Lisa says, putting the bowl into my hands. She leads me to one of the chairs in the waiting room, and makes me sit down. "You haven't eaten a proper meal in three days. Mother would be horrified."
I just stare at the blood broth, feeling sick from looking at the food. I don't want it. "I-I shouldn't be here. I need to be in there. I have to go back." I start to stand up, but Lisa gently pushes me down. When I look at her, she only glares back at me, her hands on her hips.
"Eat, Taehyung. I know you're worried. We all are. But let Jin do his work without you breathing down his neck every second. Gods, if you had seen the look on your face when you heard he was poisoned... anyone would think that you were going to kill Jin. Do us all a favor and at least eat one bite!"
I sigh, picking up the spoon and swirling it in the broth. I lift a small bite tentatively to my lips, forcing myself to put it in my mouth and swallow it. Lisa claps in approval. I drop the spoon with a plop, and put the broth on the table next to me. Lisa's smile drops, but she doesn't make me eat more.
"Some day, you're going to starve to death," She mumbles as she takes the bowl in her hands. I laugh mirthlessly. "I can't die from starvation, dear sister. Besides, you and Jin would never let me. If I go a single day without eating food, Jin always sends a care basket up to my room with about five different types of bread. I couldn't die of starvation even if I wanted to." Lisa grumbles something about brothers who don't take things seriously, but she stops as she looks at my face.
"And you've forgotten this," Lisa reaches out, and pulls at the edge of the mask which I had forgotten I had on. It resists, pulling at my skin, but finally falls into her hands with a hiss. The sharp spikes on the back are wet with blood, but I barely register the sting. Lisa stares at it, turning it over in her hands.
"Mother never liked to see you with this on," She murmurs, and I raise my head. "You never did, either. You took it off so much at home that I thought you would lose it one day." She laughs softly, and I crack a smile. Even though neither of us had our mother's fiery red hair, Lisa had definitely gotten her sweet smile and caring personality. She was the closest thing to our mother that I had.
"You think this is your fault, don't you?" Lisa says, and I don't even try to hide my feelings. She can tell when I'm lying. I just nod glumly, and Lisa's expression falls.
"Oh Tae," She hugs me around the neck, and I stiffen at the touch. I hadn't had anyone except Jungkook hug me like this for a long time. "You know, you're just like Father in some ways. Always blaming everything that went wrong on yourself. When will you understand that there are going to be things that you can't control? The real person to blame here is the one who poisoned Jungkook. Not you. Stop thinking that you're responsible for everyone's actions."
"But if I could have just stopped it―" Lisa puts a hand over my mouth, pausing me mid sentence.
"Stop. Don't go down that road. You can make up a thousand reasons for what you could have done. How you could have stopped the poisoning. The truth is, that's all in the past. Now, we just have to focus on the present. The future. Don't keep on getting hooked on what already happened. That won't help anyone, least of all, you."
She's right. I make myself believe her words, for if I keep on getting caught in the past, there's no way that I'll be able to help Jungkook through his pain. Lisa smiles at me, holding my hand tightly like when we were children, running through the long hallways of Armad. A sudden longing for the time when my family was all together washes over me, and I find myself imaging a future where my parents are alive. We would all still live in our childhood home, the humble but cozy four bedroom house that sits on the edge of flower fields bursting with spring blossoms. My mother would be ruling the Sirius clan, with Father by her side, and her gentle singing would fill the house on cold nights. When we were children, Lisa and I would sometimes sneak into Father's study, going through his papers or sitting in his large chair. When he found us, he wouldn't yell, but kneel down and explain to us what those papers meant. We loved him for that.
And Jungkook... Jungkook would also be there, blushing slightly as my parents welcomed him into their home. I knew they would love him like their own son, regardless of him being human. Only my hard-headed grandfather cared for things like that. I could almost hear my mother asking him if he liked to sing.
My fantasy is interrupted when the healing center door bangs open, and Jin comes out. His face is grim, and his eyes are red, like he's been crying. When he sees me, he runs toward me, agitation clear in his steps. My heart drops all the way to my feet as I await the bad news that's sure to come. Jin opens his mouth, and then closes it again, hesitating. His voice is soft when he speaks, but the words are anything but.
"You have to mark him Taehyung. It's the only way he has a chance of surviving. Otherwise, he'll be dead by dawn."
Next chapter coming later today!!