Jimin wasn't so easily fazed, but when he saw the deep, claw-like marks on Taehyung's arms and throat, the bruises on his hips and the cut lip and big, sad puppy tear-filled eyes, he was livid.
"Let me at him." Jimin snapped at Jungkook, who was trying to calm him down. Seokjin was tending to Namjoon, and Taehyung had Jooyeon in his lap, sniffling and all bandaged up. Jooyeon was suckling his thumb, curled up tightly in Taehyung's lap. "How dare he fucking do that to Tae--!"
"He didn't know any better." Jungkook said, reassuring the furious Jimin. "My hyung...he's not himself when he's in rut."
Jimin was still angry, but he understood Jungkook's point, his eyes wide with sympathy, and the omega plopped down onto the couch, where Taehyung was shivering, breathing shallowly with Jooyeon tucked against his chest. His thighs were closed tightly together, covering the handprint-like bruises scattered across them. "Tae..." Jimin started, but Taehyung buried his face deeper into Jooyeon's fluff of sweet-smelling hair and closed his eyes. Getting the message, Jimin swallowed thickly and looked down at the floor miserably.
Jungkook sighed, padding into Namjoon's room. Seokjin had lit up about four candles, all lighting up some sort of pungent incense, thickening the air. Jungkook's nose wrinkled, not enjoying the scent one bit and he sat down nimbly beside Seokjin, who glanced at Jungkook warily before returning to his work.
"Has this happened before?
Jungkook shrugged. "He tends to lock himself up inside of his room when he's in rut. I don't get to see what he's like, and well, I'd rather not, you know..."
Seokjin nodded in understanding, continuing to do whatever the fuck he was doing. Soon, Namjoon stirred and the alpha let out the tiniest, most desperate whine Jungkook had ever heard come from his brother's lips. Surprised, he watched as Namjoon's muscled arms swung to his sides a little clumsily and, with his toes wiggling out, the alpha looked up.
"T....Tae...?" He asked hoarsely, as he had opened his sticky eyelids to see Jungkook and Seokjin. "Where's my Tae..."
"Keep down. You're still in rut." Seokjin said with a growl, which Namjoon returned with a louder growl, sitting up despite Seokjin's words. Seokjin glowered, slamming Namjoon back down with a sort of scarily calm strength that Jungkook flinched back and cursed silently. Damn. How the fuck did Hoseok handle that?
"Fuck--why are you keeping me from him?" Namjoon snapped.
"You hurt him." Seokjin said evenly. "Quite. Badly."
Namjoon's eyes flashed with fear, and the alpha suddenly looked very small. He shrunk back into the pillows, and let Seokjin finish his work before slipping his gloves off and sighing. "Taehyung. Ah. No broken bones. Punctured, bruised, and cut skin. Looks like you sliced him with a knife." He studied Namjoon's fingernails, that was caked with blood before. Seokjin had wiped off the worst of the damage, and he could see that he had not only hurt Taehyung, but himself. "You claw when you're in rut?" he asked.
Namjoon nodded, swallowing. "Runs in the family."
"Dangerous." Seokjin clicked his tongue. "Well, that can't be helped." Seokjin blew out the candles and quickly packed up his stuff. He glanced at Jungkook. "You remember everything I told you?"
Jungkook nodded nervously, beginning to smell Namjoon's distress. "Yeah."
"Well. Do exactly as I said. I have to leave now. Gotta keep Hoseok in my sight..." He added with a mutter as he left quickly. He heard the doctor bid Jimin and Taehyung goodbye, but he only heard Jimin respond.
Jungkook turned to Namjoon, but the alpha was tearing away and had thrown the sheets over his head, his scent suddenly extremely shameful and guilty, and Jungkook took that as his cue to leave and left briskly from the thickened air from Seokjin's candles.
-
Namjoon stayed in bed all day. Until Taehyung came in with a sleeping Jooyeon to nap, and the omega had timidly sat on the side of the bed. Namjoon jerked, his scent sour and bitter, filled with guilt and shame and he muttered about taking a shower.
Taehyung sighed, his soft lilac hair falling in front of his eyes sadly as he saw his alpha clumsily stumble into the bathroom, almost drunkenly swinging into the shower, as if he was blank. Taehyung quickly tucked Jooyeon into bed, sighing, not knowing how to comfort Namjoon or even himself. Seokjin had told him to take a gentle shower, as the cuts on his shoulders and throat were still tender, and he had to apply a sort of painful solution onto them.
The omega decided to nap until Namjoon got out, smiling as Jooyeon instinctively attached himself to his side, his adorable little face squashed up against his breasts. He tucked Jooyeon closer, gently, careful not to disturb his wounds.
Meanwhile, as Taehyung fell asleep, Namjoon was finishing up in the shower, and was contemplating his existence.
He groaned, rinsing the soap from his hair as the extreme of everything that he had done just settled in. Why would he doubt Taehyung? Taehyung loves him. Namjoon loves Taehyung to death. He would kill himself for Taehyung. He would kill people for Taehyung. He loved him.
And he had hurt him!
It was all because of that dumb bitch. She had broken him so much, made him so delusional, that he couldn't even give Taehyung the happiness that he deserves.
Groaning even louder at his stupid actions, he slammed his fist against the shower tiles, growling under his breath, cursing at himself. He hissed at the pain that shot up from his fist and gruffly stomped out. He shouldn't even complain. Not after what he had done to Taehyung. He angrily toweled himself dry, shoving on his boxers and drying his hair when he realized the door was open and Taehyung was peeking in with his soft, troubled eyes.
"J-Joon? Are you okay?" Taehyung whispered. He had been startled awake from his ten minute nap when Namjoon had punched the tiles walls of the bath, and Namjoon nodded curtly.
Namjoon had never felt so awful, the gauze and bandages wrapped around Taehyung's neck making his heart clench, his throat tightening as he didn't know what to fucking say. Taehyung slowly slipped in, holding his own pyjamas in the curled fists of his tiny, pink hands, and the omega gingerly put the clothes beside him, with his panties right on top. Namjoon swallowed and made a move to leave.
"J-Jungkook said I shouldn't be near you during rut." Taehyung whispered. Namjoon swallowed. "But...I...-I wanna be with you."
Namjoon took a double take. What? Taehyung wanted to be with him?! Even after he had hurt him?
"I know you would never do that on purpose." Taehyung said, cheeks tinting, the scent of his heat filling the air, mixing strongly with Namjoon's rut. "I trust you. And I know you trust me to, but, after everything you've been through, it's...it's okay to slip up." Taehyung sidled up to Namjoon, his shorts slipping down his hips, his shirt hiking up as Taehyung slowly took off his clothes. "So please..."
Namjoon's vision turned almost black. What was happening? Was Taehyung really asking him to touch him, when he had nearly killed the omega because of his delusional and frightened thoughts? How could the omega even have enough trust to allow him to close to him? Was it the heat talking, or did Taehyung really forgive him so easily?
"...touch me."
