MY FANFIC SETTLEMENT

lost stars

Jeongguk lets out a deep sigh and his eyes flutter shut as he taps his foot against the floor. He massages his temples and then he plops down onto the couch, propping his legs onto the coffee table while he waits for his phone to sound off at any given second. It shouldn't take his father long to respond, especially considering the content of the message, and the fact that he was inevitably glued to his phone – just in case, as he would always say.

It's been a couple of hours since Jimin left to meet up with his mother, words firm and reassuring in between goodbye kisses, promising Jeongguk that it's going to work out, that he's going to _handle_ it. Under any other circumstances, Jeongguk's stomach would probably be knotting with anxiety, but not today. Not after the last twenty-four hours he and Jimin have spent together. It's sort of ridiculous how at ease Jeongguk feels right now, even while knowing that everything was pretty much in Jimin's hands. If someone would have told him a couple of months ago that he would put his trust into Jimin to sort this out, that he would trust him enough to know, to _feel_ that Jimin wouldn't screw him over, he would've probably laughed. And it is kind of silly, and perhaps it's even stupid – but it feels right. Trusting Jimin feels right. Especially now that they were in this _together._ That they decided that they were going to try.

Jeongguk thinks how ridiculous it is, the way his guard would drop down more and more with each word, each touch, each kiss, but that's exactly what happened. And he had no regrets. Not a single one.  Spending the last twenty-four hours with Jimin just lying in bed, talking, laughing, eating and having mind-blowing sex sent Jeongguk all the way up to cloud nine, and maybe a sane person would tell him to be careful, to not go from one extreme to another – but there's nothing sane about this situation and Jeongguk is so tired of keeping his walls up, of torturing them both.

And he couldn't explain it – he didn't know how, but – it just felt right. Deep down in his gut, Jeongguk knew that it was alright to trust him. It was finally okay.

His phone lights up in his hand, followed by the tickling vibration and an obnoxious ringtone which fills up the otherwise entirely quiet room. It's his father – and Jeongguk hasn't spoken a single word to him since the charity event. He's been too angry and too disappointed to actually talk to him – but he also had other things he had to worry about. And it's not that Jeongguk didn't entirely get it, because that would've been a lie – even though he'd rather die than admit it out loud. He was practically doing the exact same thing with Jimin, but the stakes were way higher for his father. He had a lot more to lose. Yes, it sucked that a grown man would fall for something so stupid, would jeopardize everything, and the fact that all of this could've ended up differently if Jeongguk and Jimin weren't... well, in love with each other makes Jeongguk's blood boil.

"Dad," he breathes into the phone, fingers fidgeting with the hem of his shirt while he stares at a blank spot on the wall. "Hey."

"Jeonggukie! I've been trying to reach you since Saturday morning," his father clicks his tongue, tone laced with disapproval. Annoyance spreads like wildfire underneath Jeongguk's skin, hot and itchy all over, and his eyes fall shut as he takes another deep breath. There's no point in snapping and arguing over the phone – especially because Jeongguk comes bearing potentially good news. "Where have you been?"

"I've been busy," Jeongguk replies firmly, trying his best to keep his voice even. "I've been working on your case, trying to figure things out."

It's not a complete lie – he had been trying to figure it out. The means weren't important if the end result was good and if everything goes well, the result will be better than his father deserves. God – Jeongguk can't help but get riled up every time those photos flood his memory and he just. He cannot believe that he would be so _stupid._