Chapter Text
Post dinner and cuddling, Jungkook was sitting on the couch in between Yoongi and, surprisingly, Namjoon.
Taehyung and Jimin both tried to sit next to him, but when a fight started to break out between them, they were told to “Stop fighting and just sit next to Jin-Hyung!”
“Okay, Kook-ah, this bully…” Jin trailed off, trying to gather his thoughts. “You said he’s been messing with your homework. He’s the reason you had those five missing homework assignments?”
Jungkook nodded.
“Is he the reason you also missed classes?” Hoseok spoke up from his spot on the floor by the coffee table.
“Y-yeah, he’s been causing me a lot of anxiety.” Jungkook took a deep, steadying breath, “The day Hoseok-hyung got the call from the school was when I got those bruises. He said- he said a lot of awful stuff. I was kinda freaking out, so I skipped class.”
“The phone call…that was the day I yelled at you.” Hoseok’s growing quiet as he spoke, “You left the next day…” The guilt coming off of Hoseok was palpable.
“It wasn’t- It wasn’t just you. I just wanted to escape everything. I didn’t feel like I was wanted here anymore, so I went to Halmonies,” Jungkook said just as quietly.
“I’m sorry we made you feel that way. It’s not true.” Hoseok’s eyes were trained on the floor.
“Thank you for the apology,” Jungkook mumbled.
“I think there’s still more to talk about individually.” Jin stood up, addressing the room, “Going forward, though, I want to add some new ground rules. Gguk, You can’t disappear like that again.”
Jin walked over to the couch and kneeled in front of him, taking his hands.
Jungkook couldn’t meet his eyes.
“I understand why you left, but it was still dangerous. If you ever feel like you need to leave like that again, please talk to one of us. At the very least, talk to Yoongi or me. We won’t stop you, but we do need to know where you are for your own safety.”
Jungkook nodded, “I’m sorry.”
Jin squeezed his hands before letting go, standing back up to look around the room.
“I also want to set a rule that if you’re angry at someone in the family, you have to talk to either that person or one of the Hyungs. Not,” Jin paused, looking everyone in the eye individually, “Not right away; you’re more than allowed to take some time to process your feelings. However, talking to at least one of us if you don’t want to go to the person you’re mad at right away, could help avoid a situation like this last week from happening again.”
“I like that,” Yoongi spoke up from beside Jungkook.
Namjoon, Taehyung, and Hoseok nodded.
“What if what we want to talk about isn’t particularly nice? Will we get in trouble?” Jimin asked.
“No, you won’t get in trouble for expressing your feelings. You will get in trouble if you act inappropriately on those feelings.” Jin assured him.
Jimin took a moment to think it over, “Okay, I like that.”
“Great. Does anyone have anything else they want to talk about?” Jin looked around the room.
After a few moments of silence, Jin nodded.
“Okay, it’s time for bed. Gguk, you’re bunking with us again.”
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Jin slipped into Hoseok and Namjoon’s room.
Only the former was inside right now. Namjoon went to help Yoongi with washing dishes.
Hoseok glanced up at him. Exhaustion was evident in his eyes. He didn’t say anything, just waited for Jin to talk.
“Hey,” Jin said awkwardly.
“Hey,” Hoseok focused back on the bed he was trying to make.
“I, um, wanted to talk.”
Hoseok sighed and set down the pillow he was fixing. “Okay.”
Jin walked further into the room and sat down on the floor in front of the bed. He didn’t want this conversation to be intimidating.
Hoseok looked at him and looked at the floor a few times before finally sitting down with his back against the bed.
Hoseok just blinked at him, waiting for him to start.
“Namjoon-ah said that there was more to this week than I thought.”
Hoseok clenched his jaw and looked away for a moment, “There was a lot you weren’t there for.”
“What happened?” Jin asked softly.
“I-” Hoseok let out a harsh breath. “I didn’t realize Jungkook had left until I got home from work. I thought he was just locking himself in his room like he’d done all weekend, but then we found his stuff missing, and then his location hadn’t been updated in a while, and I realized how much I fucked up.”
Jin felt a bit of the anger he’d felt towards Hoseok melt away.
“Namjoon and I spent all night trying to find him. I-” Hoseok blinked hard a few times, and the entire time he wouldn’t maintain eye contact with Jin, “I couldn’t take any more phone calls to hospitals. I wanted to find him, but I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to find him in the hospital.”
“That sounds really scary,” Jin looked down at his hands.
If it had been him making those calls, he would have gone crazy with worry.
“We-” Hoseok bit his lip, hard, “We had one hospital come back that had a boy brought in around midnight.” His voice had grown tight.
“I had a panic attack. I thought it was Gukk, and everything came crashing down.” Hoseok buried his head in his hands. A sob tearing out of his lungs.
Jin immediately moved forward and wrapped his arms around his brother.
“I-I thought he was going to be dead or seriously injured.” Hoseok sobbed, “I was so stressed out and I took some of it out on him when I thought he was slacking off with school.” he latched onto Jin, burying his face in his neck.
“After what happened with you I thought he was just continuing to act out and it was all so stressful. I don’t know how you do it. How do you not crack under so much pressure of making sure we don’t do something stupid and die?!”
Guilt crashed through Jin in waves. He didn’t realize how much Hoseok had been struggling.
“And- and then we give you so much crap when you make mistakes or we aren’t the nicest because we’re…because we’re grumpy or some shit and you do so much for all of us.”
Jin tucked Hoseok’s head closer to his body and started to rock them back and forth. Yes, Hoseok was an adult but sometimes Jin forgot he was his younger brother. Sometimes he didn’t need to be relentlessly reminded of how much he fucked up. Maybe he just needed a caring and supportive older brother.
“I’m so sorry for taking you and Yoongi for granted. None of this is easy and I should have done better.”
They sat there for a few minutes. Jin tried to give Hoseok as much comfort as he needed, and then some.
“I’m sorry I was such an asshole to you.” Jin said quietly into his hair.
“Something like this has never happened before. Yoongi and I have become such a well-oiled machine that I just expected you to know all the fine details that we’ve picked up along the way. I should have given you more grace. I’m sorry.”
“I-” Hoseok nuzzled into Jin’s neck a bit more, his grip on Jin’s shirt tightening a bit, “I want to help out more. If an emergency ever happens again I want to be prepared.”
“Yoongi and I would love some extra help.” Jin looked down at Hoseok and thumbed the tear tracks off his face, “But, Yoongi and I signed up to be parents. You were right that you didn’t sign up for this.”
“I still wanna help.” Hoseok pouted.
Jin chuckled, “Okay, Yoongi and I will greatly appreciate it.”
“I’m sorry for fighting with you and just everything going wrong this week.” Hoseok sat up and scrubbed at his eyes.
“I’m sorry too.” Jin pulled him into a tight hug. “I promise to do better going forward.”
“I promise too.” Hoseok reciprocated the hug just as tight.
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Jungkook had scurried into Jin and Yoongi’s room. Borrowing a pair of sweatpants and one of Jin’s oversized blue sweaters. He took a shower and then bundled up in their bed.
He took a deep breath, staring down at his phone.
It was weird. He shouldn’t be nervous about turning his phone on, but he wasn’t sure what to think. If he turned it on and saw nothing? That would be a little devastating.
His mind kept spinning with different outcomes of turning his phone on. It was dumb, he felt dumb for caring so much, but it was still a little scary.
Jungkook held down the power button until his phone lit up, and then like the perfectly mature thirteen-year-old he was…he threw it across the bed.
He closed his eyes and hummed a song. With his fingers, he massaged the knitted material of Jin’s sweater. He tapped his toes against the soft sheets of the bed—anything to ignore the slow start-up of his phone.
Jungkook made it through half a song when he was interrupted by a symphony of dings from his phone.
It went on for what felt like a minute.
Jungkook’s eyes popped open, and he stared at the end of the bed until his phone stopped pinging.
He took one breath, then another. Two, three, four seconds went by.
Jungkook pounced on his phone like a cat with a mouse.
He could feel his heart beating out of his chest as swiped his phone open.
There were more than a hundred notifications. Mesages from Namjoon, Hoseok, and Taehyung. He had at least twenty missed calls and a few notifications from his Hyungs requesting his location. There was even a message from Jin saying they were coming to see him at Halmonies.
He had the most texts from Taehyung.
Jungkook bit his lip as he opened their text conversation.
Taehyung: Where are you?
~Location requested~
Taehyung: Please tell me you’re safe
Taehyung: I’m sorry I was so mean to you.
Taehyung: Hobi-hyung didn’t mean what he said. He’s just been really stressed out. He’s been making so many phone calls to sort out the insurance and Jin-hyung’s work and probably his work and anything else that could possibly need his attention.
Taehyung: That doesn’t mean him yelling at you was okay….
Taehyung: Or me yelling at you…
Taehyung: I’m sorry, I was scared.
Taehyung: You probably were too.
Taehyung: Jimin’s really mad still…
Taehyung: I talked to the school counselor today. I told her about what happened and how I felt like I still had to be mad because Jimin was mad. She told me that I can still empathize with someone’s feelings without taking them on.
Taehyung: Pretty much that means I can understand why Jimin’s mad without having to also be mad.
Taehyung: I’m sorry I did that. I really hope you’re okay.
Taehyung: Please come back.
~Location requested~
The messages kept going, telling Jungkook about Hoseok and Namjoon calling around looking for Jungkook, even telling him about Jin coming home from the hospital and the fight that happened.
There were a few cute cat memes and selfies they’d taken together sprinkled in.
The messages finally petered off around three am. Taehyung must have been up all night messaging and worrying.
Jungkook threw his phone down again and quickly but quietly, left his Hyung’s bedroom. No one was in the living room as he passed through to get to the Maknae’s room.
As quietly as possible, Jungkook turned the knob and peeked into the room.
Jimin was lying on his bed with his back to the door. Taehyung was standing in front of the closet. It looked like he had just put on his pajamas.
Jungkook waved at him until he caught his attention. Taehyung’s solemn expression turned surprised and then confused. Jungkook pressed a finger to his lips and waved for him to come out.
As soon as Taehyung walked into the hallway, Jungkook tackled him in a hug.
Taehyung stiffened for a moment before reciprocating the hug twice as hard. Jungkook kept his face smushed into Tae’s chest. He was pretty sure Taehyung had his face pressed into his hair.
As mad and hurt as Jungkook has been, he still missed the brotherly affection that he was usually spoiled with.
“I-I think I’m still kinda mad at you, but I saw your text messages,” Jungkook mumbled into Taehyung’s nightshirt.
“I meant what I said. I really am sorry.” Taehyung’s voice sounded wet.
“It made me feel better that you cared enough to text me all of that. I-” Jungkook had to pause and swallow down the emotions that were pushing up his throat. “I was scared you guys didn’t care about me anymore.”
“We’ll always care about you,” Taehyung whispered.
The tight squeeze of Taehyung’s hug helped push back a part of Jungkook that felt like it was missing.
The two of them stood there and hugged for a while. Quietly sniffling and whispering about the different messages Taehyung sent. They finally separated when Jungkook’s eyes were growing heavy, and Taehyung was leaning more and more of his weight on him.
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After that Monday, things moved quickly.
Jin and Yoongi kept Jungkook home from school for the rest of the week.
The next morning Jin and Yoongi dressed nicely and marched down to his school to raise hell. Jin wouldn’t admit it, but he’d nearly yelled at his principal and Mrs.Lee for how they’d neglected to notice the treatment of one of their students.
Things grew even more severe when Yoongi threatened legal action against Baekhyun for the physical assault. He showed the pictures he’d taken of the bruises on Jungkook, and both the principal and Mrs.Lee grew pale.
Yoongi and Jin left with a plan for Jungkook to catch up on the school work he’d missed, as well as Baekhyun being expelled.
Jungkook had no clue if they’d actually take legal action against him. He kind of doubted they’d have the money for that right now. Especially with all he knew after that finance project he did.
Either way, he still felt nervous to go back to school, even though he knew it was safe to go back again.
With encouragement from Taehyung, Jungkook agreed to go and visit the school counselor if he was feeling anxious.
The next day Yoongi worked together with Jungkook to set up a therapy appointment for him.
Jungkook was also nervous about that. He had no clue what to expect, but he was hopeful that it would help him to feel better anxiety-wise and about everything that had happened. And if it didn’t, Yoongi promised to keep trying different things until Jungkook felt better.
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“Namjoon, Jimin, look at me,” Jin asked on the other side of the kitchen table.
Namjoon was studying his textbook while Jimin was scrolling on his phone, both refusing to look up.
It was something Jin had noticed since the big family talk.
Jimin wouldn’t look him in the eye very often, while Namjoon would escape into a textbook for more time than necessary.
“What’d ya need, Hyung?” Namjoon asked, eyes not looking up.
“I need you to look at me.”
“I’m busy.”
“ Namjoon , look at me.”
“ What?!” Namjoon finally glanced at him before looking away.
Jimin quietly tried to slip off his chair, but Jin stopped him with just one look.
“Both of you, What’s wrong? You’ve been acting off for a few days.”
Jin understood why Jimin was still so withdrawn. It’d been a week since they got Jungkook back, and the two still weren’t on good terms. Namjoon, though, his mood was fluctuating, and Jin noticed how he’d try to hide it.
“Nothing's wrong, I’ve just been busy with homework.”
Jin studied the two of them for a moment. He already felt like a bit of an asshole for what he was about to say. “You know, just because I went to the hospital doesn’t mean I was going to not come back like Eomma and Appa.” It was a low blow, and Jin knew it.
Jimin and Namjoon’s heads snapped up to look at Jin so fast he could hear Jimin’s neck crack.
Namjoon’s eyes bored into him, really looking at him, and then his face crumpled. “ I know that ,” his voice broke on a sob. He dropped his book onto the table and hid his face in his hands.
Jimin sat there stunned. His phone slowly slipped out of his hand.
Jin came around and wrapped his good arm around Namjoon while Joon reached out and pulled Jimin into his lap. His other hand gripped Jin’s t-shirt tightly.
“How did you-” Jimin looked down at his hands in his lap, “How did you know we were scared of that?”
“Because I was scared of it, Yoongi was scared of it, hell anyone would be scared of a loved one going to the hospital in normal circumstances.” Jin let go of Namjoon to turn Jimin’s face to look at him.
“Do you think that fear was part of what was fueling your anger?” Jimin nodded. “That was definitely part of it.”
Namjoon kept his face buried in Jin’s neck.
Jin knew this would be a more challenging conversation for Namjoon than it was for Jimin.
Jin sighed, “I’m sorry the both of you have been having such a hard time. None of this is easy, and if I could wave a wand and make it easier, I would.”
Jimin nodded and then cuddled into Namjoon more.
Jin looked up at the sound of quiet shuffling. Jungkook was frozen at the entrance of the hallway, looking like a deer in headlights.
“It’s okay, Kook-ah,” Jin said with a nice smile, “You can come in here if you want.”
“I’m gonna go cuddle with Tae-Tae,” Jimin mumbled. He left a kiss on Namjoon’s head and left the kitchen quickly.
Jungkook still hadn’t moved. It made Jin sad to see his brother question his own actions so much.
Namjoon's arm, which had previously been holding onto Jimin, shot out towards Jungkook, startling them both.
Jungkook didn’t say anything, but Jin could see the question in his eyes.
“Joon-ah’s okay. He’s just feeling some things.” He carefully motioned him over with his bad hand.
As soon as Jungkook was in grabbing distance, Namjoon pulled him onto his lap. Holding onto him tightly while still leaning against Jin.
“I’m sorry,” Namjoon choked out. “I was scared, and I didn’t want to think about it, and I didn’t step up like I should of, and I screwed up.”
Jin ran his fingers through Namjoon’s hair. It was better for him to get this all out than to bottle it up.
“It was so scary when we got the call about Eomma and Appa. I was terrified that we’d get that call about you. So-” Namjoon removed his head from Jin’s shoulder and pressed it into the back of Jungkook’s neck. “So I ignored everything until I couldn’t anymore, and it all just keeps hitting me, and I don’t like all these uncomfortable emotions.”
“It’s better to share them than bottle it up,” Jungkook whispered.
Even during such a serious conversation, Jin’s heart swelled with pride. Jungkook had been so nervous to go to that first therapy appointment. Yoongi had accompanied him and sat in on the first ten minutes at Jungkook’s request.
Even after just one session, Jin could see a bit of the weight on his shoulders get lifted.
“You’re not wrong, Gguk-ah. Thank you for sharing that.” Jin reached around and ruffled his hair as best he could.
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Jungkook was still sitting on Namjoon’s lap five minutes later. His head was digging into Jungkook’s back, and he was pretty sure the collar of his shirt was soaked through.
Honestly, Jungkook felt a little uncomfortable. He didn’t really want to be there getting hugged by Namjoon right now.
He loved physical affection, but Jungkook didn’t trust that his hyungs wouldn’t all turn on him again.
Right now, he didn’t like them and didn’t want to be around them, which made him really sad. His therapist had said that was okay. He didn’t have to like them right now. This whole situation just sucked.
Yoongi padded into the kitchen, stopping when he spotted Jungkook.
“You good?” He asked.
Jungkook nodded. He wanted out, but he also recognized that maybe Namjoon really needed this.
Jin stood up and walked to the kitchen counter, coming back with a paper towel.
“Okay, Joon-ah, sit up for me, please.”
Jungkook felt the weight lift off his back. Followed by a loud blow of Namjoon’s nose.
Jungkook bit his lip, debating, before turning in Namjoon’s lap to look at him.
Namjoon’s eyes were bloodshot from crying, and his face was a little snotty. Jin was throwing away the used paper towel and coming back with more, cooing and wiping at Namjoon’s face trying to get him to smile.
Namjoon finally whined to get Jin to stop when the older had finished off cleaning his face with a kiss to the forehead.
“I’m still mad about how you treated me.”
Namjoon and Jin’s eyes flickered to Jungkook.
“But I’m sorry I caused you to be afraid of Jin not coming back. Even if it was all a huge accident. I-” Jungkook chewed at his lip a little bit. “I understand how that feels, and it doesn’t feel very good.”
Namjoon’s face scrunched up, and Jungkook was a little wary of getting crushed in a hug again.
“You’re so sweet, Kook-ah. Thank you. I’m really, really sorry for ignoring everything. I promise to do better in the future.” His Hyung swiped at the tears dripping down his face.
Jungkook nodded and then ducked in to give Namjoon a hug before leaving the kitchen.
He heard Yoongi pull up a chair. There was a low murmur of comforting words from both of the oldest Hyungs.
This whole situation was so messy. His hyungs shouldn’t have treated him the way they did, but Jungkook felt a little conflicted. They’d all been struggling with so much. Maybe a little bit more time and love was needed for everyone to heal.
As Jungkook passed through the living room, he ran into Hoseok.
Without thinking about it too hard, he pulled him into a hug.
“I’m still mad at you, but I love you,” Jungkook whispered.
All the tension Hoseok had been holding in his muscles relaxed, “I love you too, Kook-ah.”
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Jungkook was delighted to see Jin’s car pull up after school.
He’d survived his first week back.
The first two days were awful. He’d called Yoongi-hyung, crying from the bathroom and nearly hyperventilating. Just walking through the hallway scared Jungkook like crazy.
Yoongi drove up to the school and sat with Jungkook in the councilor’s office until he calmed down, and then the three of them talked about how Jungkook wanted to proceed.
They decided that for today Jungkook would stay in the councilor’s office and have all of his work brought there. His teacher had prepared video lessons that he could watch so he could get everything done but not stress too much about integrating back into school.
Yoongi stayed for a few hours, pulling out his own laptop before Jungkook felt okay with him leaving.
At the end of the day, the councilor walked with him to his classroom and all around the school so he could get used to walking around during the school day. He visited Mrs. Lee, and they talked about his progress in catching up.
The second day he’d called Jin during lunch, feeling out of breath. He couldn’t quite breathe all the way in or out. Jin talked him through a breathing exercise and tried to distract him from the anxiety he was feeling by talking about work and the food they were preparing for a new event.
Jin, while talking to Jungkook, emailed his teacher to let her know what was going on and to expect him to be a bit late to class.
The next few days went better.
He was still anxious, but he didn’t have a serious anxiety attack.
Jungkook bounced in his step as he neared the car. Opening the door and sliding in, Jin greeted him with a big smile.
He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, which was surprising. Usually, Jin picked him up after he was done with work or on his break.
“I have a surprise for us today.”
Jungkook smiled and quickly buckled up.
At first, he was a little confused as they stopped at the store and bought a couple of snacks, and Jin had him pick out a bouquet of flowers; but when they pulled up to the cemetery, it all made sense.
Jin gave him a sad smile as they got out of the car, goodies in hand.
“It’s been a while since we visited. I thought today would be a good day to stop by.” Jungkook nodded, swallowing hard.
It was a lovely day out, sunny but with a nice breeze.
They walked through the cemetery gates and past different graves and headstones. Finally, they made it to the small hill that had a big tree next to two headstones.
Jin spread out a blanket and set down the snacks. He motioned Jungkook forward, who’d been carrying the flower bouquet, and smiled at him as he placed it in between the two bright marble headstones.
Jungkook stepped back and immediately plastered himself to Jin’s side.
“Hi Eomma, Hi Appa. It’s me and Jungkookie.” Jin spoke out freely to their parents. “We’ve missed you. We wanted to come visit for a while and give you our little life updates.” Jin rubbed a hand up and down Jungkook’s back in small comforting circles.
Jungkook always had a hard time coming to the cemetery. It scared him when he was little and made him really sad as he got older.
Jin sat down on the blanket and pulled Jungkook into his lap.
“I also wanted us to talk about that night.” Jin laced their fingers together and squeezed his hand.
“I-” Jungkook wanted to whine and change the subject.
“I know it’s a lot, but there are some things that I want to clear up to ease your mind.” Jin planted a kiss in Jungkook’s hair.
“That night, you were supposed to go with Eomma and Appa to that event. They had childcare set up for all the parents, and Eomma and Appa thought it'd be a good idea for you to play with some other kids.”
Jungkook leaned back into Jin’s shoulder as he listened.
“But that night, you weren’t yourself. You were tired and just wanted to cuddle and watch movies. So Eomma thought it’d be better for you to stay home. Even better, you were super cuddly with me, so I got you all to myself.”
Jungkook squeezed Jin’s hands a few times. He knew what was coming.
“Then, at some point after you dozed off, I realized you had a fever. I panicked. I called Appa and told him what was going on, and he told me to get Yoongi’s help to check your temperature. You wanna know what it was?”
“What?” Jungkook asked, voice tiny.
“100 degrees Fahrenheit.”
“That’s not good,” Jungkook mumbled into Jin’s shoulder.
“You’re right. That’s not good, but it wasn’t bad.”
Jungkook’s eyebrows furrowed. He didn’t understand what his Hyung was getting at.
“Yes, you were sick, and you had a fever, but you were asleep. Appa said that as long as you didn’t get worse, you were okay to keep sleeping. The event would wrap up in two hours, so they weren’t worried. They stayed the whole time and left with everyone else.”
“So….It wasn’t my fault?” Jungkook squeezed Jin’s hand hard.
“It wasn’t your fault.” Jin kissed Jungkook’s hair again, “It was the rain, It was the drunk driver, but it wasn’t any of our fault.”
Jungkook felt his eyes prick up with tears. He hadn’t known that. He’d always thought it was his fault. It wasn’t until he overheard Taehyung and Jimin talking that his deprecating thoughts had been affirmed.
“I blamed myself for a while.” Jin said quietly, “I thought to myself a lot, why didn’t I just ask them to come home when I called?”
Jin sighed, “But that kind of thinking isn’t healthy. Eomma and Appa’s death wasn’t our fault, and they love all of us so so much. We have a nice big family to try and make up for their loss.”
“I still wish they were here.” Big fat tears rolled down Jungkook’s cheeks, “I miss them so much. I still remember how Appa would blob kisses on my stomach and how Eomma would call me her favorite baby bunny.”
Jin released one of Jungkook’s hands to wipe his own face.
“I remember Eomma’s perfume. She always smelled sweet, like vanilla.”
“Is that why we have so many vanilla candles?” Jungkook hiccuped.
“Yeah,” Jin chuckled.
“Thank goodness, I just thought you were basic.” Jungkook quipped.
“ Y-ah,” Jin said in light scolding, both of them chuckled. It was a weird sight, both of them crying but also laughing.
“I miss them so much too it hurts. But one thing I’m confident of is that they loved you and were so so happy that you’re a part of our family. All of us are. Even if we didn’t treat you like that recently.”
Jungkook turned in Jin’s lap and hugged him around his neck.
“Eomma and Appa love you a lot too,” he whispered.
“Thanks Bun,” Jin rubbed his hand up and down his back.
Jungkook sat there for a bit before his face fell, and he started to chew on his bottom lip.
“Hyung?”
Jin hummed to show he was listening.
“Are you sure you still want me around? I’m-I’m kind of a lot, and I don’t want to be such a huge burden-”
“I will always want you around. All of us will always want you around, and I will remind you of that every single day if you want me to.” Jin emphasized his statement by kissing Jungkook’s hair multiple times until the younger was giggling and asking him to stop.
“Okay, okay, I believe you, Hyung.” Jungkook settled into Jin’s hold.
The two of them sat there for a while. They laughed and cried and told their parents about everything that had happened recently. Jin told them all about Jungkook’s achievements, and Jungkook got him back by telling them about how great of a big brother Jin was.
Jin’s ears were bright red by the end of Jungkook’s praise, but they were both smiling.
They stayed until the sun went down. Jin folded up the blanket, and Jungkook picked up the snack containers. They hadn’t eaten anything, but that was okay. They could go home and share with the rest of their family.
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Jungkook and Jin walked through the front door, and he was surprised to be met with the delicious smell of pizza.
“We’re home!” Jin called to the rest of the apartment.
A chorus of greetings called back.
Jungkook walked through the apartment and set down the snack containers on the kitchen table.
In the living room, there was a massive pile of blankets and pillows. Three big bowls of popcorn were on the coffee table, along with a few bags of candy and some sodas.
“What’s all this?” Jin chuckled.
“I thought it’d be a good day for a movie night,” Yoongi grinned.
Excitement flooded Jungkook's chest. They hadn’t had a movie night in a while. Too caught up in school and work.
“Come grab some pizza!” Hoseok called from the kitchen counter.
Three pizza boxes were lined up side by side.
Jungkook peered in. There was pepperoni, cheese, and meat lovers pizza.
“Which one do you want Kook-ah?” Hoseok asked.
“A slice of cheese and meat lovers, please.” Jungkook smiled up at his Hyung while he dished him up a plate.
Things had been tense between Hoseok and Jungkook for a little while. Slowly, Jungkook let Hoseok back in, and then Hoseok became a little unbearable. Always asking Jungkook how he was doing and if he was hungry.
He’d mentioned it to his therapist, and she explained how this was his Hyung over-compensating for messing up before.
So Jungkook just bore with it until things became a bit more normal between them.
Jungkook took the plate of hot pizza with a “thank you” and nearly bounced into the living room in excitement.
Taehyung and Jimin were sitting on one of the couches already.
Jungkook took a deep breath and then walked over and plopped down in between them. Jimin looked at him, surprised.
That was another relationship that was slowly, very slowly, on the mend. Things would be off between them for a while, but Jungkook was slowly feeling ready to try and fix things.
Jungkook cuddled into Jimin and put his feet in Taehyung’s lap. Jimin was a little stiff at first but relaxed and wrapped his arms around Jungkook.
Yoongi brought over slices of pizza to Taehyung and Jimin while also balancing his own plate.
Namjoon sat down on the ground in front of the coffee table, and Jin deposited a plate in front of him. None of them wanted to clean pizza sauce off of the floor.
They all settled in and started throwing out different movies they could watch.
Jungkook settled back into Jimin a little more.
There was so much chaos all around him, but he loved it so much.
And he was really, really happy to be a part of this family.