TickledPink!

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Namjoon dreads the talk he knows he must have with the rest of his brothers. They all sit quietly in a row on the floor of the living room watching their leader with curious gazes as he paces back and forth in front of them. They don’t know that you’re here yet, hidden away in the kitchen with your body pressed against the wall, straining to hear what’s being said. But they will soon.

Namjoon starts and its evident in the journey of studders that cracks his voice that he’s nervous about telling them. “I…My-one of my best friends was…/is/ hurt…got hurt. And…I…it's too hard to get from here to there quick enough in case something else happens so I…I mean…she-.”

“She’s staying with us.” Jungkook stands and clenches his jaw knowing that he’s in no position to make any kind of demand or decision as the youngest member of the group, but he doesn’t back down. Namjoon puts a shaky hand on his youngest brothers’ shoulder, trying his best to express his gratitude through his touch by squeezing the tight muscle that pulses under his hand.

“I don’t understand. Why is it so important that she stay with us?” One of the others asks. You take a chance and peak around the corner to get a glimpse of who asks the question and see that its Jimin. Often, when Namjoon would call to facetime you, Jimin would be with him. You’d seen his face before in the background numerous times but the two of you had never really spoken to each other.

“It’s not safe where she is, and I want to be able to watch over her from now on. She’s special to me. So, I want her to stay here in the dorm with us.” Namjoon explains and everyone remains silent, contemplating.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea Namjoon.” The opposing voice is low and almost too quiet to hear. You strain harder and lean against the wall for support.

“Why Yoongi? She’s a hard worker so she’ll be able to hold her weight around here. She would have her own room so it’s not like she would be in the way or disturb us while we work. She knows what we do, she’ll respect that.” Joonie defends, his tone rising and falling in an uneasy manor under his older brothers’ scowl.

“It’s not that simple Joon. You can’t just bring some random woman into our house and expect us to just go along with it.” You flinch at Yoongi’s words, finding a truth in them you’d forgotten to expect.

“She’s not a stranger. She’s important to me. I’ve known her for a very long time and-.” Namjoon throws his arms up in front of him, begging Yoongi to see the situation from his point of view before getting cut off.

“And what Namjoon? We don’t know her. How do we know she won’t get in the way?” Yoongi fires back. Joon’s hands look heavy as they fall closer and closer to his sides, defeat clear in the way he stares unbelievably at his long-time friend.

“She’s not just anyone Yoongi. You really think if I didn’t trust her, I would invite her into our home?” You flinch again at the way Joonie raises his voice.

“We have stuff to do Joon, an image to uphold. What will people think if we have a woman living in our house Namjoon? Are you even thinking right now?” Yoongi asks, standing from his spot on the floor. Taehyung was sat next to him, his features twisting with fear as he scoots closer to Jimin on the other side.

“I’ve been friends with her for a long time. She knows how stressful it is for us, knows just how vital it is that she doesn’t interfere, knows the image we have to uphold. I would NEVER endanger that for us!” Joon’s hands fly around his body, displaying a language louder than words to try and get his point across.

“Namjoon wouldn’t bring this up to us if he didn’t think it was important.” Jungkook states and Jin, the eldest of the brothers, reaches out to him, tugging on his sleeve.

“Come sit down Jungkook.” Jin quietly directs, but Jungkook rips his sleeve from his hold, eyebrows furrowing together.

“No! Why should I?! You’re being unfair Yoongi! Namjoon’s your closest friend, one you KNOW would never put you in any kind of situation he knows is unsafe.” Jungkook tries to reason with his brother.

“I’M being unfair?! He’s giving someone that none of us know free reign in our personal space! And you want me to just go with it? How is that fair to us?!” Yoongi shouts, louder this time making the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Jungkook looks like he could explode as he shakes his head, beyond annoyed.

“You’re assuming the rest of us aren’t ok with it.” Jimin speaks softly, not wanting to make things heavier than they already are, raking a shaky hand through his bubblegum locks.

“Fuck off Jimin!” Yoongi yell’s an octave higher and Taehyung flinches, pressing his fingers into his lips, wishing desperately he could escape to his room. Jimin pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and looked down at his lap, a cloud of stress forming over his head. This was not what you wanted to happen. Yoongi was right. You were, in the worst way, already coming between them and that was the last thing you wanted for the seven men before you.

“Yah! Don’t yell at him like that.” Jin shoots at Yoongi, who in turn rolls his eyes.

“Whatever man.” He says and looks down at the ground, shaking his head.

“We live in this house the same as you Yoongi! You’re taking this way out of proportion!” Jungkook hisses at his Hyung through gritted teeth. You’ve had enough. It didn’t need to be like this. You step out from behind the wall of the kitchen and enter the living room. They all stop talking at once. The drop of a pin would be too loud in the full living area of their apartment if anyone dared say a word.

“Please stop fighting…” You ask softly, wringing your bandaged hands together nervously without looking up at them. It remains so quiet for half a second, you’re afraid they’ll hear the skittering of goosebumps rising and racing along your skin.

“Y/n…” Jungkook breathes out, eyes taking in your torn-up state. Rips in the knees of your black jeans reveal scrapes that still ooze blood through the white gauze wrapped around them. The stretched collar of your work shirt reminds him of just how poorly you’d been treated by the hands of another man. He’d give anything to rip them to shreds if ever he got the chance to.

“This is ridiculous. Yoongi is right. I shouldn’t stay here. I don’t want to come between you guys like this, it isn’t worth it.” You press your thumb into the gash on your palm and wince, blood pooling under the bandage and staining the white fabric.

“Too bad.” Yoongi spits, his tone venomous with the intent to hurt. “You already have.” And it works.

“No. Stop.” Jungkook says, voice slightly heavy and breaking as he walks to you, gently grasping your wrists in his warm hands.

“Do NOT talk to her that way. Seriously Yoongi?! I don’t know why you’re being this way. I know for a fact you aren’t that much of an asshole.” Namjoon calms his voice, his blood boiling from the disrespectful way Yoongi is behaving towards him, around you. What made it worse was that he understood where Yoongi was coming from. He had a point; one Namjoon hadn’t given any thought before bursting through the door and demanding they have a meeting on a topic he had no intention of changing his opinion on no matter what they all had to say.

Yoongi had nothing left to say. Honestly, he didn’t mean for things to get that heated. It really wasn’t like him to get this aggressive about something like this. Seeing you come out from the kitchen, battered all to hell, face smeared with what looked like a mix of blood and make-up, made him rethink the way he’d snapped at Namjoon without assessing the whole situation first. He just couldn’t help the possessive feeling that spread like wildfire in his veins the moment he’d mentioned bringing in someone new. Yoongi was being foolish, and he knew it. He spared you one last glance and turned down the hall, a storm brewing in his mind.

“Do what you want.” He called back quietly.

Jungkook remained in front of you, breathing heavily through his nose while he held onto your wrists. You dared not disturb him, even as his gaze stayed fixated on the details of your face, finding comfort in the cover he provided you from the watching eyes around you. As Yoongi passed, Kook let out a deep breath and looked down at you. The rims of his eyes were tinged with red, tears that had pricked at the corners of his eyes reseeding with a couple bats of his eyelashes.

“She’s staying. The message we send to Army is to take care of each other. I know they would never know but what kind of role models would we be if we went against everything we teach. She’s staying. And that’s final.” Jungkook says quietly, filling the silence left behind in Yoongi’s wake. Before you could protest, Jimin was there wiping tears from your face you didn’t realize had fallen and rubbed soothing circles into the back of Jungkook’s neck. “Come on Kookie. Let’s go get her cleaned up.”

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On the fogged walls of the shower, you’d written your thoughts from the argument between Yoongi and Joon for the 10th time. Big, invisible letters spelled out words like “Stranger”, “Unfair”, and “In the way”. The thundering yells that flew across the room from one member to the other played loud and clear in your mind. You rested your head against one of the walls, letting scalding hot water cascade down the curve of your spine, willing it to erase the havoc you’d just unleashed on their family. When you’re finished, you dress quickly in the clothes Jimin had so graciously let you borrow; a fluffy white sweater, and a pair of black sweatpants that fit you perfectly. They were warm as though he’d freshly picked them from the drier, the fabric soft against your aching skin when you left the privacy of the bathroom. Jimin peeked his head out from behind a door when he heard you step out into the hallway and held out a hand for you, leading you into what you assumed was his bedroom.

To your relief, Jungkook was there as well, his legs crossed under him at the foot of the bed. He looked lost in thought, but dark chocolate eyes peered up at you through his hair when you entered.

“How are you feeling?” He asked when you joined him on the bed. The question clung to the air, open for interpretation. How are you feeling after the argument? How are you feeling after being assaulted?

“I think…just like you said earlier; tomorrow is a new day. I can move on and heal from this.” You plop down next to him on the bed, raking a towel through your wet locks. Everything you want to say to him sits impatiently on the tip of your tongue. You’re scared and sore and faced with a truth you want to avoid and so, you say nothing, choosing instead to smile as best you can. By the stress lines between his eyebrows and the even deeper worried ones imbedded in his forehead, you choose to swallow everything down and stay neutral for him. And really it wasn’t hard to do because you were content with where you were now.

“I'm sorry about earlier. Namjoon and I did NOT expect them to react that way…” Besides, you wanted to wait until your thoughts were together and not clouded with negativity. Jungkook deserved better than that.

“No, don’t. Don’t apologize. You have done so much. I-I don’t deserve to be apologized to.” It’s true. Nothing about tonight requires you be apologized to. You’ve ripped a hole in a place where holes are meant to be made only by hard work. And he’s done God’s work tonight where God lacked. He deserves the best.

“Don’t say things like that. Women don’t deserve to be treated badly. You don’t deserve to be treated badly Y/n.” His statement was absolute and unwavering, along with his gaze; sad but genuine. Sure, Yoongi had made it clear that you were in the way, and Namjoon’s raised voice still rang clear in your mind, but Jimin’s kindness and Jungkook’s honest care kept your demons away for the time being.

“Kookie, why don’t you go wash up and come back. Ill fix the bed for y/n and we can keep her company for the night.” Jimin demanded and cupped his little brothers’ cheek, helping him up.

“Will you be ok here alone?” Jungkook takes your hand in his and you watch confusion and mild defensiveness flit over Jimin’s features.

“What? She’s not alone! I’m not going to eat her Kook. Go. Go wash up and hurry back.” Jimin swats at his back but Jungkook’s gaze doesn’t leave yours. He’s pleading for you to ask him to stay, you can tell that much, but he doesn’t know the inner turmoil you’re putting yourself through for causing him so much stress today. As much as you wanted to stay curled up in his arms as you drove far away from the nightmare of your old life, you wanted him to leave, to save him from being responsible for you. Jimin’s eyes flash between your face and Jungkook’s and he reminds himself that you’re here for a reason, a reason that he has yet to know. Suddenly he’s overcome with the need to comfort and protect both of you.

“I’ll be ok Jungkook.” You squeeze his hand because that’s all you feel like you can do to assure him. Because really you don’t know if you are ok or not. Yes, to some degree you are familiar with Jimin but really you don’t know him and the thought of being alone with anyone, but Joon or Jungkook right now makes you want to run as far away as you can.

“I'll take care of her. I promise.” The soft promise falls delicately out of Jimin’s mouth as he hugs Jungkook around his torso. It snaps the latter out of his worried trance, and he blinks rapidly before nodding and heading towards the door.

“It’s a lovely night tonight. Unseasonably warm for autumn. It gets a little stuffy in here, is it ok if I open a window?” Sentences fall out of Jimin’s mouth faster than you can understand him, and you can tell he’s trying to lighten the mood, but your eyes can’t seem to stop watching the door where Jungkook just departed. Tilting his head to the side, Jimin walks slowly to where you sit lazily on the bed and speaks softly.

“I just want you to know that we all want to take care of you.” Despite Jimin’s bright eyes and light voice overflowing with positivity, he was being very serious.

“But Yoongi…” You breathe out, the name sticking to your taste buds.

“Don’t worry about Yoongi.” He said taking your hands in his. “The moment he saw you he changed his mind.” You shook your head, closed eyes trapping you in a world where Yoongi was right, where you didn’t belong.

“How can you possibly know that Jimin? He was so mad…” And he was. You didn’t know Yoongi, but from countless home videos that Namjoon had made and sent you over the years of him and his many adventures, Yoongi never ever ACTUALLY got angry. All that ever shown through was his calm, passive but caring demeanor and you were a fool to think that those were his only emotions. But then again, you were not his brother. You were no one to him, indeed a stranger that has no idea who he really is, and he had every right to be mad.

“Because, Y/n, I KNOW Yoongi. I know how he thinks. And I saw it; the regret that flashed across his face and I knew then that he had changed his mind. Look…I know you don’t really know me or us, but Namjoon does not do things or decide things by accident. So, if this means a lot to him then it means a lot to us. You are welcome here. Don’t ever doubt that.” Finally, your mind starts to thaw as Jimin repeats your thoughts and you find yourself melting into your surroundings.

“I can tell you still aren’t sure. Just stay for tonight and tomorrow you can decide whether this is where you want to stay. But please, just relax for now, ok? You’re safe here with me.” His hand caresses your shoulder, fingers playing gently with the fluffy tufts of your borrowed sweater and for a moment, everything slows down. A break in the cold, icy, block of worry.

“And me.” Through the window a gust of warm air billows through the room and mixes with the scent of warm water and bubbles as Jungkook re-enters the room, making a Bee line straight for you.

As the night went on, Jimin and Jungkook chatted aimlessly with each other and you about their upcoming tour over steaming cups of coffee, and you do your best to focus on the way their tones lighten whenever they mention their fans because it makes you feel weightless inside. They share stories of young adults who spend their time making signs and creating symbols of love and euphoria and it’s a feeling you can’t even imagine as they explain just how much it affects them. But it helps you. It helps you breathe a little gentler. It helps you fall into what feels like an endless dream of bliss. Above all, it helps you create a scenario where you’ve met these seven wonderful men set before you in a very different way.

Before long both men have curled up to you on the bed; a sleepy Jimin laying horizontally at the end of the bed keeps your toes from freezing and makes room for Jungkook to lay as close as you’ll allow him across from you. Here in this dream, they have wings. Wings you feel wrap around you when Jungkook sees a tear fall onto his arm from when he surrendered it to you. Tears he sees and an arm he gives up for you because he can’t sleep without you attached to him suddenly. Because he can’t bear the sight of you ever having to be uncomfortable again.

You don’t know it yet, but you’ve sparked something in these men. Something in Jimin who can’t wait to know you. Something in Jungkook who for some reason can’t imagine tearing his eyes from you. Especially something in Namjoon, who has already written 3 songs since you got here just mere hours ago. Something in each of them in their own corners of their shared apartment where you still don’t feel you belong. They’ve all hummed a melody and written words because they can’t bear the thought of you or anyone else having to feel out of place in a world where you deserve to be as happy as them. They’ve all made a promise to you. To themselves. And you to them.

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