"We become the monsters we're most afraid of."
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"Jimin," she breathed out. "You're allowed to touch me."
His plump lips slightly parted as a gasp escaped him. "I-" he exhaled, his fingertips slightly grazing her cheek.
"I'm someone else tonight...
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Jimin's knees suddenly gave way to gravity – shaky, weak. Without a conscious thought, he took a step forward. Seconds passed as his brain took her in. She was awake, small hands rubbing away the remnants of her dream from her eyes.
It was his name. The first word to have escaped her was his name.
Jimin stood pinned to his spot, part of him afraid that it might be all a dream. He threw a cowardly glance at the two men beside him – no, this definitely wasn't a dream, based on the bewildered looks on their faces.
In the midst of the heated hassle, none of them had noticed her get up and sit upright in her bed.
"Jimin?" she whispered in a hoarse voice, puffy eyes darting towards the other two men to his right. "Jungkook? Taehyung?"
"Are you- okay?" Jungkook was the first regain his senses and break the silence. He gulped loudly, boggling eyes fixated on Aera as if she was a three-headed dragon and not a harmless sleepy girl.
"I think so," she hummed, discarding a couple of stray strands from her face. "Are you guys alright? It kind of sounded like you were arguing."
Unable to contain the grin that spread across this lips, Jimin smiled softly, pressing the back of his hand to his mouth. Perhaps it was inappropriate, but seeing her awake again almost made him giddy with excitement. His heart was blooming with thankfulness. Of course the first thing she'd ask was if they were okay, even though she was the one who had blacked out for three days straight.
Just one of the many reasons why I love her.
"There might have been some tension," Jungkook explained with a simper, throwing a brief glance at Taehyung whose face was practically unreadable, pitch black eyes staring right at Aera. "But if we managed to finally wake you up, then it must have been worth it." He flashed her an adorable bunny smile, the corners of his deep doe eyes creasing charmingly.
She chuckled softly. "Okay but why are you guys standing all the way over there? Come here." she patted the mattress, urging them to sit down next to her.
Jimin and Jungkook came closer, the two of them plopping down on each side of her while Taehyung remained standing by the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest, his jet black bangs falling over his face.
"How do you feel?" Jimin breathed out, overcome by intense emotions. He only managed to reduce them to a single touch on the back of Aera's hand, feeling too uncomfortable to show his affection in front of the other two men.
"I'm fine," she nodded, a tight smile plastered across her face. She sat the same way, acted the same way, talked the same way. But Jimin was fully aware that no one goes through such a whirlwind of emotions in one day and comes back the same. Cautiously, he let his eyes examine her face without staring too openly. She gulped. "But I had the craziest dream ever."
