Engima | bts mafia au

5.

After the meeting, Jungkook makes his way to the bathroom, revolted to find the state of his hair... and his smell. He would ask to shower if the fact he obviously didn't bring a change of clothes wasn't a factor. An angered sigh is enough to draw the attention of a nearby Taehyung, who leans into the doorway and chuckles.

"Something bothering you, little bunny?"

Jungkook freezes for a second, processing a nickname that - for once - isn't a slur or harmful jab. He brushes the slightly flirty remark off as quickly as he can, but not before it could shift something inside of him.

"I desperately need to shower," Jungkook groans in disgust as his arms flop defeatedly at his sides.

"Go ahead," Taehyung nonchalantly replies as he nods toward the shower, "you have to take care of yourself anyways."

"I would, but..." He gestures down at his clothes, smoothing down his wrinkled shirt and adjusting his faded jeans as a method of drawing attention to his already dirty appearance.

Taehyung makes a noise of affirmation and disappears for a short time before returning with a pair of clean clothes.

"Here, take these," He offers as he sets the clothes on the counter, "and you can leave your boxers on the counter near the door. Seokjin hyung will grab them and throw them in the wash." A slightly disgusted look from Jungkook makes Taehyung raise an eyebrow, not bothering to hide his amused smile. "It's either that, never wash your underwear, or wear a pair of ours."

"Fine then, counter it is." Jungkook says with a small smile, finding the ultimatum kind of funny.

Taehyung gives an amused laugh before shutting the bathroom door for him, giving Jungkook the chance to finally freshen up and take a few minutes for himself.

All that clouds Jungkook's mind is Taehyung's constant presence. At first, it was out of place, but it somehow progressed into a comforting feeling. He's been there, almost protecting him, since he woke up in Jimin's old room. He's never had an older sibling or a protective friend, so this new behavior is... somewhat endearing to him. The more Jungkook tosses the idea over in his mind, the more it makes him smile and his heart flutter. Oh dear god. Not the fluttering heart. Not now. Not him.

/\/\//\\//\\///\\\///\\\//\\//\\/\/\

"The hell you think you're wearing?" A voice rasps after Jungkook steps out of the bathroom.

Jungkook slowly tuns to find a still very drunk Yoongi. He points a shaky finger directly in the younger boy's face, his expression twisting into one of dazed anger.

"First... you take him... then... you take his clothes? You think you can replace him?" Yoongi slurs as he backs Jungkook up against the hallway wall, gripping his collar tightly. "You know I won't hesitate to kill you. I swear to god, kid, I'll-"

Yoongi is suddenly wrenched away from Jungkook, tripping over himself and knocking into a wall.

"How many times do I have to tell you?! Lay off the poor kid! He didn't do anything to you!"

In place of a snarky insult, Yoongi slowly straightens himself and gives Taehyung a cold glare. He quickly throws a punch aimed for Taehyung's nose; in his drunk state, he of course misses, his punch landing square on his left eye. The younger man reels backwards from the sudden blow to his face before leaning against the wall to keep himself from falling. Jungkook's startled gasp is heard in time with the sound of the punch, and once Taehyung hits the wall, Namjoon comes barreling down the hallway.

"YOONGI! WHAT IN GOD'S NAME HAPPENED THIS TIME?!" The man bellows has he dashes down the hall towards the three.

Taehyung slumps against the wall, looking at the three other men without lifting his head. Namjoon quickly hooks his arms underneath Yoongi's, holding him still while Jungkook bends down to examine Taehyung's wound.

"HE DID IT! HE FUCKING DID IT! HE TOOK MY JIMIN AWAY FROM ME! AND I'D BET YOU ANYTHING THAT SMUG MOTHER FUCKING BRAT HAD SOMETHING TO WITH IT, TOO!" He roars, thrashing and twisting violently in Namjoon's simple hold. Taehyung's jaw clenches tightly as he hears Yoongi's snarled insult. He hates being wrongly accused; he had nothing to do with Jimin's disappearance, but he knows who did.

God damn it, Hongjoong, this wasn't what I agreed to!

Namjoon ends up dragging Yoongi to his room to calm him down and hopefully knock some sobriety into the man. Jungkook helps Taehyung stand, wrapping his left arm around his neck and draping it over his shoulder in case he feels dizzy. He walks with him into Jimin's old bedroom, his current room, and sits him on the bed.

Jungkook makes his way back into the bathroom and returns to the older with a damp towel. He gently dabs the towel around Taehyung's eye, focusing on the skin already bruising over. A light hiss from the injured man makes Jungkook flinch before scoffing.

"It's gonna be one hell of a black eye. It's gonna hurt, Taehyung-ssi."

Taehyung just gives a crooked grin; naturally, Jungkook finds it cocky and annoying, yet he chuckles when a particular image pops into his mind, placing a smile on his lips.

"Abraham De Lacy." He hums as he continues dabbing at Taehyung's eye. The other snorts, sighing before replying.

"Giuseppe Casey." He sings, not being able to hide his growing smile.

"Thomas O'Mally, O'Mally the ally cat," they sing together before Taehyung adds the "oh yeah!" to conclude the song.

Jungkook laughs to himself as he pulls the washcloth away from Taehyung's face.

"You look even more like a bunny when you smile," he notes, causing a very slight and unexpected blush to spread across Jungkook's cheeks. "Now what made you sing that?"

"Well, your crooked-looking smirk reminded me of O'Mally," Jungkook chuckles as he crosses his arms.

"Are you calling my smile crooked?" The older asks in mock offense with his hand clutching his heart.

"Duchess found it attractive, remember."

"Oh, so now you're calling me attractive?" Taehyung raises an eyebrow.

"I plead the fifth."

An amused hum comes from Taehyung before he stands up.

"You didn't have to help, you know."

"I wanted to. I mean, you're always helping me one way or another, so why not return the favor?"

"It's nothing, little bunny. I promise."

Taehyung gently pats Jungkook's shoulder, giving him a genuine smile.

"I'm sorry about Yoongi hyung, by the way. He has abandonment issues, and if you couldn't already tell, him and Jimin hyung are together. Naturally he'd go batshit crazy if something happened. And now here we are."

"It's alright. I mean, I've never been close enough to anyone to understand how that feels, but I can understand."

"Damn, I'm sorry, little bunny. My door's always open if you want to talk or just hang out. I know it can get kind of lonely."

Jungkook smiles and thanks him for the kind offer before Taehyung nods and retreats out of his room. Flopping back on the bed, he mulls the offer over in his mind. Why is he being so nice to him?

More importantly, why is it affecting Jungkook as much as it is?

Snap out of it. The focus is on your parents. Not some cute guy.