Chapter 27

Chapter Text

"Where are we going?" Jungkook believed it was justified to ask because his hyung has been acting very strange the entire day and everything culminated with him closing the shop a few hours earlier. Yoongi was a workaholic and in the many years they've been working together, the younger couldn't think of a precedent.

They were currently inside the mint-haired man's car and the silence that fell in between them made it clear that he wasn't going to find out what was going on until they reached their destination. The car was parked inside a shopping complex so Jungkook followed the other as he got out of the car, studying his expression as they made their way inside. Yoongi looked so deep in thoughts that he suspected he hasn't even heard his previous question so he let him guide them towards the last floor of the building; that particular area was made of shops neither of them would have ever entered so the younger's jaw almost dropped when he realised it was a jewellery shop they were looking for.

"Hyung?" Cat-like eyes were studying the glass cases. "What are you looking for?"

"A ring." The answer was whispered to him and the low tone indicated the nervousness lacing each letter. It all made sense now and Jungkook felt his heart swelling at the realisation that he was the one his friend has chosen to help him with this crucial task. "Do you think he'd want diamonds?"

"I think he won't care about the ring at all." He knew he was right because Hoseok was not the materialistic type but that didn't mean he didn't want the best for him. Yoongi was convinced that he would only propose once during his lifetime and the thought alone was terrifying because he really wanted to spend the rest of his life by his current boyfriend's side. "And I'm sure he'll say yes."

"How can you know?" His hyung was looking somewhat innocent, wide eyes searching for confirmation.

"He loves you." He knew he did but that didn't mean he would want to marry him. Hoseok was a dreamer and very family-orientated (a trait he's got from his parents) so Yoongi could only hope that he would be the happy ending he was going to choose for himself. It took them more than an hour to find the perfect ring but once they did, even Jungkook could confirm there was no better one. It was simple – made of white gold, a little sun engraved on it and the dongsaeng smiled because he knew "sunshine" was Hoseok's favourite pet name.

"I need you to tattoo me."

They went back to the parlour and Jungkook understood what the hurry was as soon as he's been offered the stencil of the new piece his best friend wanted on him. Will you marry me? It was his handwriting and the younger smiled goofily at the idea, surprised by the creative way of proposing.

"Do you think he'll like it?" He wanted to be placed on his forearm and the other smiled as he nodded fiercely. "I've thought about a classic proposal but you know I'm no good –" Getting on one knee and proposing in front of tens of curious eyes was not Yoongi's style at all because the audience would only put more pressure on the act and he didn't need any of that.

"He'll love it. It's feels more personal." And the proof was going to remain on his skin for as long as he was going to live.

He was informed that he couldn't tell anyone – not even Jimin – until he was going to find out the answer and he swore solemnly that he wouldn't only if the elder promised he was going to tell him what the answer was as soon as possible. He took the duty of making sure everything was in place before locking the studio and shooed the other home, well-aware that the anxiety was going to eat him alive if he was going to stay around for more. He was turning on the security system when his phone began to vibrate and he smiled widely, knowing it was his boyfriend who was probably worried because he was late.

"Hello?"

"Hello." A small pause followed. "Are you on the way home?" The question was shy so he cooed at the image of his boyfriend's probably-concerned expression.

"I'll be home in half an hour, sweetheart. Do you want me to grab anything?" The answer was no and Jungkook wondered if his boyfriend was afraid there would come a day in which he simply wouldn't return to their shared apartment. He was going to bring the theory up so he could make it clear that he would always come back home to his baby.

Jimin was dressed in one of his hoodies that fell around him like a dress and he had rainbowy knee-high socks on but nodded when he's been asked if the large item of clothing belonged to him, his cheeks pink.

"So there is no way that is my hoodie." Jungkook asked again teasingly, encouraging a pout to appear.

"No. It's mine, Daddy." That was a blatant lie but the Dominant let it slide because the purpose of it was too cute and he enjoyed having his lover dressed in his clothes. Jimin prepared dinner for the both of them so they dug in before deciding to share a shower. They made love under the hot water and fell asleep before midnight, wrapped around each other as they always did.

Jungkook was woken up in the middle of a night by his phone buzzing and the other whined, annoyed by whoever was disturbing his sleep. He thought his boyfriend would ignore it but instead the tattoo artist grabbed his phone and grinned widely at the screen that showed one simple message: He said yes. It was funny how dry the announcement was; if it would have been Hoseok who would have announced him, he was sure he would have added countless of emojis – from sparkling hearts to kissy faces.

"Who is it?" Jimin rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Yoongi-hyung." The boy seemed nothing but confused. "He proposed and Hoseokie-hyung said yes." All the sleep was forgotten, it seemed, because cinnamon eyes widened in disbelief as pillowy lips parted.

"What?"

Jungkook told him everything they've been up to during the day and watched as his boyfriend's expression changed with each detail. His heartbeat was threatening to break through his ribcage so he took a big hand to place it on his chest as he announced how happy he was for their friends. He couldn't believe it was Yoongi who proposed but he knew his Hobi-hyung couldn't be happier with the event because it wasn't just one time that he shared his dream of having a family.

"I don't think I can go back to sleep now." Jimin said and threw his legs over the edge of the bed, his fingers searching for the switch that would turn the lamp on. He would have put on his slippers if it wouldn't have been for Jungkook's arms wrapping around his middle and locking him in place.

"Calm down, baby. Come back to bed." The enthusiasm cancelled that possibility so they decided to brew some tea instead, the elder fascinated by his partner's bright mood and smile. Jimin was a selfless person and he wanted nothing more but for his dear ones to be happy but they have never talked about marriage before so everything felt brand new. "Do you want to get married some day?"

"One day." He was quite the romantic but he's been told before that his expectations were sometimes unrealistic so he preferred not to share them. "The idea of knowing that you'll have someone by your side forever must be very soothing." But most people were afraid of commitment and he didn't want to push Jungkook into having the same beliefs if that wasn't the case.

"Forever, huh?" That was a word the tattoo artist hesitated to use because the meaning behind it was so heavy.

Jimin didn't reply, he simply poured himself another cup of tea and looked outside the window at the full moon.

Yoongi was trying to act as if he wasn't the happiest man on the planet so Namjoon and Jungkook decided to play his little game, exchanging knowingly smiles from time to time. Hoseok dropped by during lunch time with food for everyone so they had to endure minutes of sickening sweet exchanges between them, amused by the way their hyung would react to some of the things his fiancé insisted on saying and doing.

There was no one who could make Yoongi happier than Hoseok.

There were no appointments in the afternoon but Jungkook wanted to renew his catalogue and that meant at least a couple of hours of extra drawing. He was enthusiastic about it because having an Instagram account caused for his popularity to grow and a lot of people asked for him expressly. He was drinking his second coffee of the day when his phone began to buzz and he furrowed his eyebrows because Jimin was calling and he was supposed to be working at the cafe.

"Min?" He would have asked what happened if he wouldn't have heard loud sobs echoing through the phone. "Baby?"

"Daddy, Bunny –" The boy wailed and doe eyes immediately widened in realisation when he heard the name he's been called. It wasn't like Jimin to call him Daddy while in public so the boy was probably in great distress.

"Where are you, baby? Are you at the cafe?"

"Y-yes. Pick m-me up, please?"

It wasn't a questionable thing to do, Jungkook was already looking for his jacket, knowing Yoongi would understand that it was necessary for him to leave.

"Of course, sweetheart. Daddy's on the way. What happened, can you tell me?" Bunny hasn't been feeling well lately; he hasn't been eating almost at all so because of that Taehyung decided to take him to the vet where he's been told that Bunny has developed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It was a hard disease to endure so euthanasia has been described as the best option as the cat was going through severe pain and Jimin simply couldn't accept that. The elder barely managed to understand the entire story because sobs interrupted every sentence, his Baby sounding already exhausted.

"I d-don't want him to d-die, Daddy. T-Tae wants." Jungkook sighed and put his phone on speaker as he entered the car, knowing that ending the call would be a bad idea.

"Tae doesn't want Bunny to hurt anymore, sweets."

"No." Death was a concept that was hard to acknowledge when you were a ball of anxiety but even the brown-haired boy could understand that things couldn't go his way this time. He waited in the bathroom where he has locked himself tens of minutes before his boyfriend has arrived and tried to keep himself from crying when he heard gentle knocks on the door.

"Come out, angel." He did, his face bloated because of the tears, his eyes red. He didn't know how to react so he looked at his worn-out shoes, waiting for the other to pull him into a long hug. "You've been so good for me." Jungkook whispered and kissed his forehead. "So brave."

"We need to g-go –" Jimin wasn't feeling neither good nor brave, all he knew was that he needed to get to the vet where his best friend was waiting for him in order to make a decision. He couldn't stop crying so he didn't, immune to the hand that was trying to calm him by caressing his thigh and arm every few minutes.

It was easy to find Taehyung because his turquoise hair was standing out but even the tattoo artist has been shocked as soon as their eyes met because it was the first time he was seeing the boy looking so vulnerable. He was demolished so he stepped aside as his boyfriend hugged him tightly, the gesture causing for him to break down and start crying too. It wasn't easy – Bunny has been with them for years and now he was simply fading away.

"It's okay, Tae."

"I d-don't want him to go." They needed more than twenty minutes to calm down and agree that euthanasia was the best choice. Even if he wouldn't have been put to sleep, Bunny would have continued to struggle for only a few weeks so it wasn't worth the pain. They've been allowed inside the room and tried to stay strong as they caressed their pet's head for the last time but failed miserably.

Bunny has been their best friend.

Jimin kissed him in between his ears before whispering something to him and turning around to hug Jungkook close. They could hear Taehyung whispers as the doctor injected the cat and the caramel-haired boy broke down when he's heard his best friend saying "I hope we'll meet again.", a little hand coming up to cover his mouth. He couldn't watch the scene so the tattoo artist held him tightly, one of his arms wrapped around his head as if he was trying to protect him from everything that could hurt him. It felt like forever until the machines indicated the outcome and Tae kissed the furry head again before looking Jungkook in the eye and trying to smile.

"He's okay, Minmin." The turquoise-haired boy whispered and went to rub his best friend's back. The first time Jimin has seen has been his soulmate's signature boxy smile he tried to mirror it, even if he felt like something broke inside of him.

The artist decided it was the best for them not to be apart for the night so he invited Taehyung over, aware that the boy shouldn't be left alone after such a dramatic event. They adopted Bunny back when they were in middle school, they had a lot of fond memories together so they took hours to pour their souls out, until they were left absolutely exhausted.

Tae fell asleep on the couch so Jimin grabbed a thick blanket to cover his body and kissed his forehead before heading to the bedroom where he found Jungkook looking for his comfort blanket. It was the one he would use after having a scene and as it was always calming him, the elder supposed it would work this time too.

"I think I need a shower." The boy whispered as the blanket was placed on the bed. All he wanted was to wake up from this nightmare but unfortunately he knew it wasn't possible so sleeping was the best alternative and even that wasn't an option yet.

"Do you want me to help you?" He nodded slowly, knowing he would go crazy if he would allow his mind to scream at him and allowed Jungkook to pick the pjs he was going to wear along with some towels. Warm water was cascading over them when the man pulled the smaller frame closer to him so their lips could meet gently. He wanted to reassure his baby the best he could, glad that there were no tears left to cry because the entire situation was breaking his heart.

Jimin looked completely lifeless so the tattoo artist made it his task to dry his hair and body and dressed him before guiding him to the bedroom. A little ear ended pressed against a hard chest and hands were roaming up and down its owner's spine rhythmically, encouraging him to breathe properly and allow himself to sleep.

"I want him back, Daddy." Jungkook knew that so he kissed his forehead. "I miss him already, I don't want to forget him."

"You won't ever forget him, baby." Tears began rolling down rosy cheeks again so the elder sighed and moved so he could look his boyfriend in the eye. "I know you loved him a lot and he loved you and Tae just the same. Bunny has lived a long and happy life."

"Do you think he's been happy?"

"I am sure he was, angel. And you've made the right choice by letting him go." It was something he really couldn't help with. He wished he would have been powerful enough to bring the cat back but he was only human.

"I want him back." Jimin sobbed and covered his face with both hands, feeling his body slowly being rocked back and forth. It was a childish wish but it was the only thing he could think about so he fell asleep hours later, while Jungkook was still whispering him, hoping that it wasn't going to hurt like that forever.

They bought white flowers the following day and Tae decided to print some photos he gathered over the years in order to put a little album together. He didn't feel ready to go back to the apartment and Jungkook sensed that because he invited him to spend as many nights as he wanted with them. As much as he wanted to help, he hasn't known Bunny for a very long time and he was aware that his boyfriend could only be soothed by his soulmate's presence and tight hugs.

He hasn't experienced the loss of a pet so he could only imagine how hard it was for the boys. He tried to take more time off from work in order to spend it at home with them because he was worried. He didn't want Jimin to go back to that dark place inside his mind so he was working on being the best lover and Daddy. Taehyung had no idea that his best friend was a little but they managed to balance everything and make it work, even if Jungkook was the one holding the boy to sleep at night.

One week later the tattoo artist was taking the shoes off as silently as possible, aware that someone could be sleeping. He smiled sadly when he felt the sweetness of fresh flowers in the air and tiptoed his way to the living room, trying to figure out what was going on. He was about to call for his boyfriend when his eyes widened because of the familiar squeaky giggles he loved so much. Jimin was resting on top of Taehyung and they were both reading something that looked like a manga, the latter making it his job to explain what was going on with the characters presented.

Normally, Jungkook would have greeted them but he decided to wait a few more moments, taking in the adorable view in front of him. Things were slowly going back to normal so he smiled genuinely and took a big breath. They were going to be alright.