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His cheeks were red beyond return. Actually, include his ears and eyes too. No, Park Jimin was not feeling warm and fluffy. In fact, Jimin was now sitting on the curb with his jacket draped around his shoulders trying to warm up. It had just stopped raining thankfully, but there was no guarantee that it wouldn’t rain again. Jimin, for the life of him, hoped it wouldn’t. The last thing he needed was to be found crying in the rain.
He didn’t know why he was crying, but it had just been building up the whole time at dinner. How long has he been out here? One glance at his lit up phone screen, the brunette was able to determine that the others were probably wondering why he was taking so long in the “bathroom.” After all, no one took twenty minutes to use the restroom.
It was probably time for him to go back inside now, but every time Jimin went to get back up again the crying started all over again. His hands shook, nausea built up in his stomach, and he couldn’t just move. Why couldn’t he fucking move? He heard the door to the restaurant open, and didn’t flinch when someone came up behind him with a hug.
Whoever it was, Jimin was glad they didn’t speak. The silence was perfect, it was just what he needed. So, as he gave in to the hug, Jimin closed his eyes and loosened his grip on his own hand. When he was able to focus a bit more, Jimin easily concluded that it was Jungkook behind him. Of course it was, he knew that stupid woods-y cologne the maknae always wore. He knew it just as well as he knew that the Earth orbited the Sun.
“Your food is getting cold.” It was only a whisper, but Jimin heard him.
“I know.” It didn’t seem proper to talk in his normal voice, so Jimin replied in a whisper as well. Though, his was different.
His voice was breathless, rough from crying. Jungkook only held him tighter. Silence took over once again, but it wasn’t long before Jimin was confident enough to shift positions and nuzzle his face into the side of the younger’s neck. It was embarrassing to have tear tracks staining his cheeks, so now he was doing his best to hide them.
The pressure build up in Jimin’s chest slowly went away, his hands stopped shaking as soon as he hugged Jungkook back. It was still silent, both of them still didn’t have the nerve to move. Jimin would not have it any other way.
Unfortunately, there was a time where they did have to get up again. There was a time when Jimin had to go to the restroom for real to wash his face. Jungkook told him to meet him back at the dinner table, and quietly explained the situation to the rest. All of them understood, nodding and silently agreeing not to bring it up to him directly.
Everything went back to normal. Yoongi paid for dinner, but didn’t forget to remind each boy that they owed him. They all laughed, knowing that the grumpy blonde wouldn’t press on about it later. Seokjin drove the car back home, being the eldest and the one with the license. Jimin quietly got ready for bed by himself, declining Taehyung’s offer to play video games. His energy was still drained from…whatever that had been. He was fine now, or at least that’s what he thought, but he still felt sluggish and gross. Hopefully he could just sleep it off.
After lying in bed by himself, Jimin felt the mattress dip ever so slightly beside him. He knew who it was, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he tried acting like he was already fast asleep. Though it was probably trick any others, Jungkook boldly laid down next to Jimin and pressed up against his back. Sometimes it was hard for him to sleep at night, and well, it looked like Jimin needed some help to sleep tonight too.
“I looked it up, you know.”
Jimin only hummed in response, allowing the younger to continue on. He ignored his general cuddling and pulled the covers up to his chin. Of course, Jimin didn’t mind sharing the bed, but he needed to learn to keep his space.
“You can talk to me if you need it, you know. You’ve been sleeping, right? Eating?”
Jungkook was genuinely concerned as he stared up at the ceiling in the dark. From what he had learned, these…panic attacks, they could be trigged by so many different things. Turning his gaze to the figure under the blankets, Jungkook sat up with a sigh.
“I’ve been sleeping fine, Jungkook.”
“What about eating?”
Jimin still didn’t answer, causing Jungkook to pull the blankets away from him. This earned him a groan as a response. He asked his question again, offering the blanket up as a reward for answering. It took a while, but Jimin eventually rolled over to stare up at the younger.
“I keep forgetting to.”
“You don’t just forget to eat.”
“When you’re constantly practicing, you do.”
An uncomfortable silence fell between them and Jungkook slowly gave Jimin the blankets back. Laying down with him again, Jungkook pressed his head back into the pillows.
“I’ll make you something in the morning, you better eat it.”
The next morning, Jungkook was the last one to wake up. However, Jimin took it upon himself to actually eat, and prepare something for the sleepy maknae that woke up minutes before they had to leave.