Archive of Our Own

“I’ll keep you safe, Jungkook-ah. As long as we’re together... I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Jungkook sat up with a gasp, the last dregs of his dream slipping away like water as he pushed himself off of the ledge he had been leaning against. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep but it had been far too long since he had last gotten a decent rest and the second he had secured the door to the roof, Jungkook’s remaining energy had evaporated out of him and he had had no choice but to take refuge against the low wall of the rooftop. He glanced around himself as he slipped his bag over his shoulder once more and readjusted his weapons on his hip, making sure that there was nothing trying to sneak up on him. 

He cautiously peered over the edge and to the side alley of a department store below. There was a small hoard gathered around the entrance, just barely visible from his angle. 

“Shit,” Jungkook hissed, scratching the back of his head in irritation. Whoever had decided to go scavenging in the department store had clearly brought an entourage with them and hadn't cleaned up behind themselves. “Fuckin’ bastards.”

He heard the glass shatter as the biters broke through the front doors of the store and a startled yelp from inside. Just as Jungkook was getting ready to turn around and go back down the way he came, resigned to the knowledge that he’d have to look into replacing his jeans another day, he heard more shouting, this time coming from the back alley. Curious, Jungkook went over to the other ledge and peered over. 

There were three men frantically trying to find a way out of the alley as biters broke down the fence separating the alley from the main street. Jungkook watched as they ran over to the fire escape and the first man took a running jump at the ladder, his lower half swinging furiously with his momentum as he grabbed onto the rung and pulled himself up. From Jungkook’s point of view, he watched as the other two men shot down a few of the walkers that got too close. 

Most of the zombies in this sector of the city were old. They had been around since the outbreak, the disease spreading too fast throughout larger cities like this to try to flee or fight back. This was why Jungkook liked big cities like this. It was easy to outrun most of the biters and even when you were boxed in, their reaction times were slow enough that one could take them down with a few well aimed blows. The smell was what usually kept living people away. So many rotting corpses in one place, especially corpses dating all the way back to the outbreak, left its mark. Jungkook didn’t like spending too much time in the cities but it was inevitable if he wanted supplies that were not gate-kept by local gangs that had taken over smaller towns and unincorporated villages. 

A part of Jungkook was rooting for the trio as he watched the second guy run and jump. The man missed, nearly crashing into the wall behind him. The other man on the ground, smaller and leaner than the other much taller man, appeared to laugh at him even as he efficiently shot down two walkers with headshots. The taller man shook his head and took another jump at the ladder, this time grabbing hold of it and hoisting himself up with the help of the first man. 

Jungkook watched as the small man took out another biter before pocketing his pistol and taking a running leap at the ladder. He grabbed hold of it on the first try but that, apparently, was the last straw for the outdated fire escape because Jungkook watched as the rung broke under his weight and he plummeted back down onto the ground. He heard the men all shout, no doubt drawing more walkers to them as the small man weakly pushed himself up only to collapse under his own weight. Jungkook was too far away to see if there was something wrong with him  but he could see the way the man inched himself backwards until he could prop himself up against the wall and thrust up a hand to the other two who looked like they were about to jump back down. 

Words that Jungkook couldn't hear were exchanged and then the two men were leaving— leaving their friend behind— as the smaller man took out his pistol and downed two more biters who had gotten too close during the accident. Jungkook watched as the two men ducked into the building a few floors up and disappeared from sight and something in him ignited. Before he knew it, Jungkook was halfway down his fire escape, moving as fast and silently as he could towards the man in the alley. 

His friends had abandoned him— didn’t even have the dignity of ending his life before a walker got to him— and Jungkook wouldn’t stand for it. The least he could do was at least try to get the poor man out. 

Jungkook’s boots landed heavily on the asphalt, drawing the attention of the closest walkers. By now, he was close enough to hear the other man, even over the low groaning of the undead. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he man hissed. Jungkook was surprised at how delicate the other man sounded. “I’m not fucking turning.”

He pulled out his sword and cleanly decapitated the biters trying to close in on him before making his way through the small hoard that had accumulated, taking down every single undead monster within reach of his blade as he went. Just as he cut through enough of the zombies to get his eyes on the man, he saw the stranger lift his own gun up to his temple, his eyes screwed shut as he pulled the trigger.

Jungkook couldn’t help the full-body flinch, expecting the loud, horrible noise of another life lost only to freeze when an innocent little click sounded instead. It only took him seconds to realize what had happened and doubled his pace across the alley in his effort to reach the man before the biters. 

The man released another soft “fuck” before throwing the gun to the side, the metal clattering noisily against the pavement. 

Jungkook made it to the man just as another biter closed in on him. He swung his sword in a practiced arc, cleanly taking off the head of the biter before it could get too close. The body dropped, revealing the blood-spattered face of a— very attractive— young man. Jungkook had to swallow down his younger self’s desire to swoon at the handsome face in front of him. 

“Word of advice,” he started, hating how raspy his voice sounded after going so long without talking to another human being. “Blades don't need to be reloaded.”

Jungkook nearly groaned out loud at how dumb he sounded. Six months without speaking to another living soul had clearly had an impact on his socializing capabilities. “I’ll, uh— keep that in mind?” the man replied, breathless and hollow as he blinked up at Jungkook in amazement. 

Jungkook held himself back from the overwhelming desire to bury his face in the dumpster in order to get out of the incredibly awkward moment and thrust his sword through another biter’s skull. “You good to move?” he asked instead, deciding to just focus on the task at hand. 

From the corner of his eye, he saw the smaller man shake his head. “No,” he bit out. “I think my leg is broken.”

Jungkook grunted, using his foot to kick back the lifeless body he had just decapitated in order to trap another biter underneath it. “Okay,” he replied, his mind rethinking through all of his options as he tried to figure out how he was going to get the man to safety. It made sense now why the men he had been with had abandoned him. Going back to try to save him would have been suicide. It didn’t mean that Jungkook could condone what they did, however. They hadn’t even had the mercy to put him out of his misery before abandoning him. “Can you pull yourself up with the wall behind you? I’ll back up and you can hop on my back.”

The other man grunted in his acknowledgement, Jungkook hearing the telltale sounds of him slowly hoisting himself up with the help of the wall. “How, ah— how are we going to get— get out?” he asked, stuttering through the pain as he did his best to do as Jungkook told him. “I’m— I’m up.”

Jungkook nodded, lunging forward to take out a few more biters that had gotten too close for comfort before backing up and reaching back with one hand to help the smaller man latch on. “Climb up,” he commanded. 

He felt the man grab onto his shoulder and hoist himself up, wrapping his good leg around Jungkook’s waist while the bad one dangled uselessly behind him. Jungkook used his free hand to grab onto the bad thigh and maneuver it as gently as he possibly could in their current situation so that the smaller man could hold on a bit better. 

He heard the man gasp in pain and silently sympathized with him. Broken bones were a bitch in the apocalypse. “We’ll get that splinted soon,” he grunted, driving his sword through another skull as he felt the man wrap his arms more securely around his chest. “Just hold on a while longer.”

“Thank you,” the man whispered as Jungkook started making his way back through the hoard towards the fire escape he had come down. 

Jungkook huffed out a laugh. “Don't thank me yet,” he grunted. “We’re not exactly in the clear.” Jungkook made his way to the ladder, knowing that he was going to have to do the same run-and-jump the men had attempted with the other fire escape. “Hold on,” he cautioned as he picked up speed. 

He felt the way the smaller man tighten all of his limbs around Jungkook’s body just as he launched himself upwards, grabbing a hold of the ladder. The force of the jump caused the man’s broken leg to dislodge from his hip and then his other leg followed. Jungkook grunted at the sudden added pressure around his neck as the other man scrambled to gain purchase again. 

Suddenly, it felt as though the smaller man were being ripped away from him and Jungkook quickly repositioned his hold on the ladder so that he could wrap one hand around the man’s wrists to keep him in place. 

“Fuck,” the man swore, his flailing legs nearly causing Jungkook to lose his grip. 

He glanced down, trying to see what was happening only to let out a curse himself when he caught sight of a biter’s teeth lodged in the smaller man’s bad leg. 

The man swore a couple of more times, his grip tightening as he used his good leg to kick the biter in the face until its teen dislodged. The second he was free, Jungkook pulled them upwards and kept climbing until they were back on the roof where he had left his pack.

He carefully set the man down next to his bag and ran over to the stairwell door, double checking that it was still secure before racing back to the man who was weakly propped up against the low wall of the roof. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” the man cursed, smacking his palm against the concrete. “Please,” he begged, reaching out to Jungkook and twisting his fingers in the lapels of his leather jacket. “Please don’t let me turn into one of those things. Just— please just kill me.”

Jungkook ignored his pleading, digging into his pack and pulling out some antiseptic and a roll of bandages before removing the man’s sock and shoe, rolling up his pant leg to get a better idea of what he was working with. 

“Please,” he begged weakly. “I’m bit. Please— kill me.”

Jungkook grunted. “No,” he hissed, digging through his pack again as he searched for his sterilized knife he usually used for food and first aid. 

“There’s no cure for the bite and we both know it,” the other man reasoned desperately. “Please— I— Just don’t let me become one of those things. I don’t— I can’t be the reason anyone dies. Please—”

“You’re not turning today,” Jungkook growled, flipping open his switchblade before turning to look at the man’s tear-streaked face. “What’s your name?”

“Ji— Jimin.”

Jungkook shot him a bittersweet smile. “I’m Jungkook,” he replied. “Please don't make me regret this.” He took the knife and slit open the pad of one of his fingers, watching as the blood quickly pooled to the surface and started its descent down his hand. He quickly moved it directly over the bite wound and pinched his finger, encouraging more blood to fall into the bite.

“What— what are you doing?” Jimin asked, watching in aghast as Jungkook allowed the blood to drip for a few more seconds before deeming it enough and pulling it back, quickly sanitizing the small wound and wrapping it up. 

Jungkook shrugged, pouring a healthy amount of antiseptic into the wound and ignoring the way Jimin hissed in pain before carefully wrapping it up. “You seem like a decent human so I’m giving you a chance,” he said. “Just— please don’t make me regret my decision, Jimin-ssi.”

Jimin nodded blankly, clearly not understanding what Jungkook meant but not wanting to question his kindness even if it did seem kind of pointless. 

Jungkook glanced around until his eyes landed on a couple of brooms that had been abandoned on the roof. He got up and grabbed them, using his foot to snap them in half until he had four pieces. He made his way back over to Jimin and dropped down to his knees, digging through his pack again until he found his roll of duct tape and a clean-ish t-shirt. 

“Here,” he said, thrusting the shirt into Jimin’s startled hands. The man held it in confusion, blinking stupidly up at Jungkook. “This is going to hurt,” he explained, nodding towards Jimin’s leg. “And you need to stay quiet. I don’t know how much that door can hold.”

Jimin nodded grimly, twisting the shirt before shoving it between his teeth and closing his eyes. Jungkook took a steadying breath before turning his focus back onto Jimin’s legs and started the painstakingly arduous process of setting his leg and bracing it with the broken broom pieces as duct tape. He saw the way Jimin smacked the concrete desperately, pained whimpers making their way through the t-shirt before everything went silent. He glanced up, grateful to see that the smaller man had passed out from the pain. He could work with less guilt now that Jimin was unconscious. 

He didn’t prolong the process regardless, securing Jimin’s leg before packing away all of his supplies back into his backpack and slinging it over his shoulders before glancing down at Jimin. With the smaller man unconscious, Jungkook couldn’t make him hold onto him which meant that he’d have to carry him which would leave him defenseless. 

It was moments like these that Jungkook missed traveling in a group. Ignoring all of the glaringly obvious downsides to traveling with other people, it was nice to know someone had your back when you couldn’t defend yourself. Even if, in most cases, his back had been left defenseless regardless of who he was traveling with. 

Except Junghyun.

God did he miss his big brother. It had been the two of them against the world since the first emergency broadcast and he’d always protected Jungkook with a fierce intensity. 

Jimin released a soft moan, pulling Jungkook away from his melancholy thoughts and forced him to focus on the present. It was just Jungkook now— and Jimin— and he’d be damned if he let anything happen to the smaller man in his care. 

He bent down and scooped up Jimin into his arms, cradling him close to his chest before making his way to the bridge he had crossed earlier to get onto the roof in the first place. It was questionable whether the rickety plywood would be able to hold their combined weight but considering they were just as dead if they chose to wait on the roof until Jimin was able to cross himself, Jungkook didn’t have any other choice. It was either die by falling or die by zombies and he’d gladly choose the swift embrace of death. 

There was always a third option, one that Jungkook could never make himself choose, which was to leave Jimin alone on the roof, maybe with a weapon or some food, but ultimately he’d be no better than the group he’d been traveling with before that had left him in the alley way—than the group Jungkook had escaped from— and he refused to stoop that low. 

Jungkook sucked in a deep, steadying breath before stepping out onto the bridge. Each step was measured carefully and one nerve wracking minute later, the duo were on the other side. He gently laid Jimin down before grabbing the wooden plank and pulling it back, dropping it on the roof next to the low wall just in case he’d need it again. 

Jimin moaned again, turning his head to the side as he slowly blinked his eyes open.

“Welcome to the land of the living, Sleeping Beauty,” Jungkook snarked, though he was secretly grateful that Jimin hadn’t woken up on the bridge.

Jimin moaned again, weakly trying to push himself up until he realized he did not have enough strength for that and flopped back down onto the floor. 

“We’re not out of the woods yet, Jimin-ssi,” Jungkook warned, taking off his backpack and handing it over to the smaller man. “Put this on and then you’re gonna get on my back again. I need my hands so you’re gonna have to hold on.”

Jimin nodded, swallowing thickly before donning the backpack and getting to his feet— or foot in his case— with Jungkook’s help. Jungkook helped him climb on his back and repositioned his legs as best he could without aggravating Jimin’s broken one before crossing the roof to the fire escape. 

“I was bit,” Jimin whispered, his breath tickling Jungkook’s ear as his small hands gripped the taller man’s jacket. 

“You were,” Jungkook confirmed as he started the arduous task of climbing down the old fire escape which was made ten times more difficult by his extra heavy backpack. “But you don’t need to worry about that.”

Jimin huffed, resting his cheek against the cool leather of Jungkook’s shoulder. “Are you some weird freak that collects biters and keeps them like pets?” he asked, half in jest though Jungkook could hear the real worry behind the joke. 

Jungkook shook his head, dropping down onto the ground with a grunt, quickly grabbing underneath Jimin’s thighs to keep him from slipping off from the impact. “Nah,” he huffed, making sure the smaller man was steady once again before letting go and making his way towards the street. “You’re not gonna turn. I can explain once we’re somewhere safe. Until then just— keep quiet. I don't exactly want to draw a crowd right now.”

He felt Jimin nod against his shoulder though he kept his mouth shut which Jungkook was eternally grateful for. 

He made his way out onto the street which was luckily mostly deserted at this point, the majority of the biters having been drawn into the alley. Jungkook headed in the opposite direction of the department store, not wanting to risk getting any closer to a hoard than absolutely necessary. They traveled for a few more blocks until Jungkook spotted a hotel that looked relatively intact. It was risky, but he also knew that they couldn’t stay out on the streets, especially with how low in the sky the sun was. 

He set Jimin down on one of the couches in the lobby and quickly dispatched the few walkers roaming around before checking the stairs. He didn’t want to leave Jimin alone so he was limited on what he could do. There were a few bookshelves near the staircase so Jungkook decided that it’d be best to block it off— at least for the night— because there was no way he’d be able to clear the entire hotel. He then did the same for the hallways on either side of the lobby. 

It wasn’t the greatest but Jungkook doubted that he’d be able to sleep regardless so it didn’t really matter. He locked the front door but didn’t barricade it, not wanting to leave them with no way out and he didn’t particularly want to have to move it all come morning when they moved on. Once the place was secure, he made his way back to Jimin who looked to be struggling to keep his eyes open. 

“I think I have some painkillers,” he mumbled, digging through his bag until he found the medicine bottle and tipped two into his palm before passing them over. 

Jimin swallowed them dry with a grimace and a soft thank you. “Can I ask now?” he started hesitantly, clearly nervous about pestering the man who saved him. 

Jungkook huffed out a laugh, dropping down in the armchair next to Jimin’s feet so that they could somewhat face each other. “I gave you my blood,” he started, a part of him wishing that he could just forgo the explanation. He sighed and pulled up his shirt, showing Jimin his scarred torso. 

The smaller man gasped, pushing himself up on his elbows to get a better look at the bite marks before Jungkook dropped his shirt. “What happened to you?” he asked, aghast. 

“I’m immune,” Jungkook explained, tilting his head back in the armchair to examine the water-stained ceiling instead of having to look at whatever face Jimin was no doubt making. “Doesn’t stop the biters from trying to take a piece out of me but at least if they do I don’t turn because of it.” He laughed humorlessly, his hand unconsciously coming up to rub at a particularly deep bite on his shoulder from nearly a year ago. “I can still get one hell of an infection though. Surprisingly, zombies don’t have the best dental hygiene practices. Who would have thought?”

Jimin released a loud bark of a laugh, immediately slapping his hands over his mouth as his eyes widened in terror. They both sat frozen for nearly two minutes before they both untensed when there was no signs of movement from anywhere else in the hotel. “Thank you, Jungkook-ssi,” he whispered. “That must have taken a lot of blind trust so... thank you.” 

Jungkook nodded, finally making eye contact with Jimin again. “I hope I don’t regret it,” he confessed. “I have in the past.”

“You won’t,” Jimin promised, eyes wide with sincerity. “As soon as my leg is healed I can help however you need. I swear— I won’t be a burden and I... wait— does this mean I’m immune now too?” he asked, his thoughts taking a sharp right turn as Jungkook’s statement caught up with him. 

“Only temporarily,” he explained, shaking his head. “Long enough to fight off the initial infection but if you were to go back out and get yourself bit again you’d be just as likely to turn as you were before you met me.”

Jimin nodded seriously before smiling at the other. “Good to know,” he replied, trying to sound cheerful though he missed his mark. “No unnecessary risks. That’s kinda relieving to be honest. I don't think I’d want the burden you have.”

Jungkook shrugged. “You get used to it,” he admitted. “How old are you?”

Jimin hummed thoughtfully. “I’m not entirely sure anymore,” he confessed. “I’ve completely lost track of time. But... I was born in 1995 if that helps?”

“You're two years older than me,” Jungkook said. “Which means... you’re twenty-one... I think.”

“Oh god,” Jimin gasped, staring at Jungkook in horror. “You’re— you’re nineteen? You’re just a baby, oh my god. And you’re— you’re all alone?”

Jungkook shrugged uncomfortably. “I used to have someone— my brother— but it’s... it’s just me now.” Jungkook swallowed, standing up abruptly. “I’m gonna go check the perimeter. You should get some sleep, Jimin-ssi.”

Jimin frowned, watching Jungkook as he turned his back to him and made his way towards the staircase. “You should call me hyung,” he suggested softly, watching as the younger man paused in his steps for a moment before slowly nodding his head and continuing towards the door. 

Jungkook stayed near the entrance, keeping an eye on the street and listening closely for any sounds inside of the hotel. He could hear a bit of shuffling coming from above them but not enough to worry him. When he eventually turned back to check on Jimin he saw the way the older man had finally fallen asleep, one hand hanging limply off the edge of the couch with his mouth wide open. With slow, practiced steps, Jungkook made his way over to him and gently pressed the back of his hand to Jimin’s forehead. If the infection had set in— if Jungkook hadn’t given him enough of his blood— he’d be able to feel it through the heat of his skin. 

He breathed a sigh of relief when all he felt was the slight warmth of a healthy human, no fever in sight. 

The rest of the night passed like that, Jungkook was too paranoid to not keep checking for signs of infection until the sun crested the horizon and he was certain that if infection hadn’t set in yet, then it wasn’t going to. He was resting in an armchair he had pulled over to face the front doors of the hotel when he heard a soft sniffle and rustle as Jimin woke up. 

“Jungkook-ah?” Jimin called softly, still sounding half asleep as he bit back a groan.

“I’m here,” Jungkook replied, his voice barely above a whisper as he stood up and made his way back over to the older man with one final glance out the window to the slowly lightening street outside. “How’s your leg?”

Jimin moaned, squeezing his eyes shut. “Hurts,” he admitted. “But I’m alive. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” he mumbled, already digging through his backpack to grab the painkillers again along with a half-empty water bottle. “Here, this’ll help.” Jimin accepted the pills and water bottle with a hum of gratitude, watching as Jungkook dug through his bag again. The younger man pulled out a can of what looked like peaches, prying the lid off with a switchblade he had in his pocket before stabbing one of the slices and holding it out to Jimin. “Breakfast,” he explained, his hand steady as he waited for Jimin to cautiously bend forward to accept the fruit into his mouth. 

The next slice Jungkook took for himself before offering another to Jimin. They worked their way through the can like that until all that was left was the juice. Junkook took a long sip of it before passing the can over for Jimin to finish off. “Thanks,” he murmured once the can was completely empty, setting it down on the floor next to the sofa. 

“We should keep moving if you’re up for it,” Jungkook said, avoiding Jimin’s eyes as he stuffed everything back into his bag. “We’re close to the edge of the city and I don’t want to come across any other breathers.”

“Breathers?”

Jungkook shrugged, helping Jimin sit up and get his backpack on the older man before crouching down and securing him on his back. “Living people,” he said, making sure Jimin wasn’t going to slip off before starting to move, his sword already out of its holster as he unlocked the front door to the hotel. “Still breathing— Breathers.”

Jimin nodded slowly, keeping his eyes peeled as they moved swiftly through the streets. “Is that how you see me?” he asked, not quite sure he wanted to hear the answer. 

“Nah,” Jungkook replied after a thoughtful moment. “Breathers are just monsters with a beating heart. A Breather would have sacrificed their friends for a chance to save themselves— you sent yours away. That’s what made me save you, I think. You could have let that other man try to come down to get you up but he definitely would have died in the process but you didn’t. You sent them away, didn’t you?”

“I couldn’t let Taehyung see that,” Jimin whispered, his arms tightening a fraction around Jungkook’s chest. “He’s— I couldn’t let any of my friends see me like that. And I’d rather die a thousand times than see any of them get hurt... especially because of me. And Tae— he’s... innocent isn’t the right word but like... his heart is still pure, even after everything he’s seen and endured. I couldn’t— I didn’t want to be the thing that broke him, you know?”

Jungkook didn’t reply verbally but he did nod, the motion brushing their cheeks together for a moment before Jimin pulled back a fraction. 

“They’re good people,” Jimin continued after a few more minutes of silence between them as they pushed on further into the city. “My group— they’re good people. They’re— I was with a different group when it all went down, my classmates— we were all on the dance team and we were at a competition in Daegu. We stuck together with our teacher at first because— that’s what you do in this situation, right? But then— then there was a hoard and our teacher left us. We tried to make it on our own but... in the end it was just me.”

“I’m sorry,” Jungkook murmured in empathy as he turned into an alley, easily dispatching the two walkers roaming around aimlessly in the small walkway. “Hold on, I’m going to jump.” Jungkook leaped upward, grabbing a hold of the fire escape and pulling himself up. “Being alone isn’t easy,” he said as he started the trek up to the roof. “But it is safer. Disaster brings out the worst in humanity and really shows their true colors. I’m sorry you had to experience their cruelty first hand.”

Jimin huffed a laugh, pressing his cheek to Jungkook’s shoulder. “You talk like an old man, kid,” he teased gently. 

Luckily, Jungkook released a soft puff of air in amusement. “I feel like an old man too,” he admitted, finally reaching the roof. “What happened next? How’d you survive on your own?”

Jimin hummed, tightening his hold as Jungkook moved around the roof and cleared the place of zombies. They appeared to be on a community rooftop garden. There was even a covered patio space in the center of it that Jungkook set Jimin down on once he had double checked that every corner was secure and that the door to the roof was sealed off completely. “I wandered around for a while,” he said, sinking back gratefully into the cushions as Jungkook very carefully raised his injured leg onto a seat cushion he’d placed on the low coffee table in front of them before taking a seat himself. “I was... starving and sleep deprived and— and just ready to end it all, you know? I didn’t see a point to anything anymore. And then I stumbled upon Taehyung. He was— he’d been cornered by a local gang and they were— the things they were promising to do to him—” Jimin gagged, closing his eyes as he shook his head as though to clear his thoughts. “I didn’t think, I just— I hit the leader over the head with my baseball bat. It— it gave Taehyungie the moment to run away and I— I thought he would— and he did— but... he grabbed my wrist and forced me to run with him.” 

Jimin glanced over to see a tiny, barely-there smile on Jungkook’s face, though the younger was careful not to reveal much more than that. 

“We ran for what felt like forever,” he continued. “Back then the walkers were still fast, you know? So we were running from the gang and from the undead. I thought for sure we were going to die but— but at least I wasn’t alone anymore, right? So I kept running with him, and he led me to a restaurant near the sea and just as we reached the door, I heard a gunshot. I thought— I thought the gang had had enough fun chasing us and were just going to— to execute us. But— but then there was Yoongi-hyung on the roof holding a rifle pointed straight at the gang. One of the guys was on the ground screaming and hyung told us to get inside.”

“And you just— did?”  Jungkook asked, flabbergasted. 

Jimin shrugged weakly. “Taehyung did, so I did,” he replied weakly. “And besides, I thought I at least had a better chance with him than with the men outside. And I realized really quickly that Tae-yah knew Yoongi-hyung. We left the restaurant after hyung scared away the gang and it was the three of us until we reached the outskirts of Seoul. That’s where we met the others and we’ve been together ever since. Well... until now, I guess. I hope Joonie-hyung and Tae got out alright.”

“I’m sure they did,” Jungkook replied, though even he wasn’t convinced by his own voice so he doubted he did much in the way of comforting the older man. 

Jimin sighed, and turned his head to look at Jungkook. “So, you said you weren’t always alone, right? Can I ask who you were with? What they were like?”

Jungkook clenched his fist in his lap, glaring down at his dirty jeans. “It was— my older brother... He— I— but it’s— it’s just me... now.”

The older man reached out slowly, dainty hand gently encircling Jungkook’s wrist. “What happened, Jungkook-ah?” he asked cautiously. 

“It was— it was my fault,” he started, using his fingernail to pick at the built up dirt on his jeans. “We— because of my immunity— before... before we knew better— we’d join groups and I’d— I’d use my immunity to save our group whenever we got into sticky situations. And I— I was proud that I could help other people like that but— some... some groups would abuse my immunity and make me go into— into really fucking dangerous places to get them supplies because they knew the bite wouldn’t outright kill me and they’d— if I ever tried to refuse they’d— they’d use hyung as collateral. If I didn’t do what they wanted, they’d hurt him. Sometimes— sometimes they’d hurt him just to make sure I’d stay cooperative and complacent.” He paused, taking a shuddering breath as he tugged his shirt out of his pants and lifted it up, pointing out a specific, gnarly-looking series of bite marks decorating his ribcage. “One day I got cornered, didn’t make it back in the time they wanted and they— they fed hyung to the biters. It’s my fault he’s dead, Jimin-ssi,” he confessed. “I killed him.”

“You did not,” Jimin hissed, tightening his grip on Jungkook’s wrist marginally. “And I’m sure your hyung would agree. You were just a kid that wanted to help people and those sick fucks took advantage of you and your brother. The only people who are to blame for your brother’s death are those bastards. I’m so sorry you had to go through that Jungkook. And that you’ve had to grieve your brother alone. All this time.”

Jungkook shrugged, unable to formulate a response. It had been so long since he had spoken so genuinely with another person and even long since if he didn’t include his brother into that count. He especially didn’t know how to respond to the sincere sympathy and empathy Jimin was exuding. 

“It's sick,” Jimin continued, undeterred by the younger’s silence. “The fact that human beings were so willing to sacrifice another human being just because you can survive the infection. They’re the real monsters here. I can understand why you call them Breathers now.”

The younger nodded but didn’t reply, leaning his head back slightly on the outdoor sofa for a moment before sighing and pushing himself to his feet. “I’m going to go check out the rest of the building,” he declared. Jungkook went over to the stairwell door and, instead of opening it, pushed a heavy storage cupboard where the residents of the building had stored their gardening tools in front of it, making sure that it was secure.

“What if you need to get up here while you’re inside?” Jimin fretted, watching Jungkook in worry. 

“If I’m cornered by biters, I’m not about to lead them up here to you,” he replied, making his way over to the fire escape. “There’s more painkillers and food in my bag, Jimin-ssi. Take some if you need it.”

“But won’t you need it?” Jimin called as Jungkook moved to jump over the ledge. 

Jungkook turned his head back to smile at the older man. “I’ll be back soon,” he said before jumping down onto the fire escape. He made his way down and opened the window to one of the apartments a few floors below the roof. It was easy to take out the two walkers in the apartment, clearly a couple that had tried to ride out the infection in their home. They were probably some of the more early victims based on how slow they were and the fact that their apartment looked relatively untouched by looters. 

He dug around in their things, snagging a duffel bag from their closet and grabbing a couple of blankets and pillows from their bed before digging around in their drawers for some clothes that could fit either him or Jimin. The man looked to be about the same height as Jimin, though heavier set, so Jungkook took a couple of the man’s thicker jeans and his sweatshirts along with a couple of pairs of boxers. He set the full bag out on the fire escape before venturing further into the apartment. Apparently the couple had been nerds because their living room was filled to the brim with DVDs, video games, and comic books. Jungkook nearly stopped in front of the comic books, wanting nothing more than to dive into them and devour every single one, but shook his head and kept on moving towards the kitchen, promising himself that he’d go back later if he had time. Jimin would probably appreciate something to read while he was injured anyways, he told himself. 

In the kitchen, Jungkook found a school bag half spilling out onto the small dining table, clearly one of the walkers had been a college student. He emptied the rest of the bag onto the table and moved over to the cupboards, sifting through them and pulling out anything that looked edible. He even grabbed a couple pairs of chopsticks, figuring now that there were two of them, it didn’t really make sense to continue eating off of the same switchblade. 

There wasn’t much food left in the apartment, the couple having, no doubt, gone through most of it before they turned, so Jungkook ventured out into the hallway with caution, closing the door behind him. There were a couple of biters lingering in the hall, their heads turning in unison towards Jungkook as they staggered slowly towards him. He took them out easily and checked up and down the hall for open doors, closing them so that no biters could sneak up on him while he was clearing the floor. Starting at one end, Jungkook cleared each apartment and looted their homes for clothes, food, and medicine as he went, collecting it back in the nerdy couple’s apartment to carry up to the roof later. 

The next thing he did was pull out some of the heavier furniture and block the staircase going down with them until he was sure that nothing would be getting up that way. He did the same thing on the other staircase before moving up a floor and repeating the same process. By the time he reached the top floor, he had amassed three duffel bags full of supplies along with the bag of bedding. He’d even found a few roll-up mattresses in one apartment that he gleefully lugged over to the window and set out on the fire escape of that floor. 

He had secured four floors and had blocked off the staircase at each level, ensuring that even if his first barrier was broken, there would be three more in its place. Next, came the arduous process of lugging everything up to the roof. 

“Jungkook,” Jimin sighed in relief when the younger climbed the ladder once more, two duffel bags hanging over his shoulders. “You came back.”

Jungkook smiled, dropping the bags down on the raised platform the patio furniture was on. “I promised, didn’t I?” he teased. “Anyways, look what I found.” He dropped to his knees and dug through the first bag until he found what he was looking for, pulling out two unopened bags of Takis. “Have you ever had these before?”

Jimin released a soft laugh, his eyes welling up in tears as he accepted one of the bags from the younger man. “They’re my favorite,” he confessed, his voice nothing more than a whisper as he hugged the bag to his chest. “Yoongi-hyung loves them too. He— I accidentally ate the last of his stash the other day and I never told him. I’m— I know he knows that it had to have been me but he... he never called me out on it. I was going to try to find some more for him when we were out yesterday. As an apology.”

Jungkook hummed thoughtfully. “You really care about your group a lot, don’t you?” he asked. 

“We’re like a family,” he whispered. “I miss them like crazy and I feel guilty knowing that they’re grieving over my death right now. Not that I’m not grateful for what you did and are doing,” he rushed to continue. “But I hate that they’re hurting right now because of me. I know Namjoon-hyung is killing himself for leaving me behind, even though it's what I wanted.”

“I’m sorry,” Jungkook said, unsure what else he should say to comfort the older man. “Do you... do you wanna talk about them?” More than anything, Jungkook wanted to duck away and go get the rest of the supplies he’d collected but he knew that this was important to Jimin so he bit back his instincts and settled down next to the older.

Jimin nodded, closing his eyes as his fingers absentmindedly played with the corner of the Takis bag. “Yoongi-hyung is tiny,” he started. “Even smaller than me. But he’s— he’s fiercely protective. He’s not afraid to end a few lives if it means keeping us safe. He’s known Taehyung since before the outbreak. Their parents were best friends or something so they’ve been friends for forever. Tae-ah... Tae-ah is the baby of our group. He’s the youngest— technically he’s only a few months younger than me but... but everyone treats him like he’s a lot younger than he actually is and he never fights it.”

“He’s got a pure heart,” Jungkook said, parroting Jimin’s words from that morning.

The older man smiled sadly, nodding his head. “Yeah, he does,” he said. “And we all want to keep it that way for as long as possible. I’m afraid— I’m afraid that this might have broken him... just— just knowing that they’d left me to die. Even though— even though I told them to. I hope he’s not blaming Joon-hyung.”

“Namjoon,” Jungkook repeated, trying to remember all of the names Jimin was telling him about. 

“Yeah, Joon-hyung is a year older than me and Tae. He’s... he’s sort of the leader of our group. He’s so smart and knowledgeable and we all just... it’s easy to look to him, you know?” 

Jungkook nodded, humming softly. 

“He and Hoseok-hyung were studying to be doctors together,” Jimin continued softly, cautiously tilting his head to the side to rest it on Jungkook’s shoulder. The younger man tensed but didn’t push him away so Jimin kept it there. “Hobi-hyung can be so bright,” he whispered. “He’s kept us going when everything felt hopeless. He’s— he lost more than all of us— seen the infection firsthand in a way none of ever had to endure before. Not— not with someone we loved like he did.”

“What happened?” Jungkook asked, slowly lowering his head so that his cheek was resting on top of Jimin’s head. It was nice— being so close to another human being again— strange, but nice. 

“He was with his family at the start, but then his dad got bit and... and he didn’t tell anyone. Hobi-hyung woke up to his mother screaming as his dad tore at her neck.” Jimin shuddered, wrapping his arms around himself. “I know it’s selfish, but— I’m glad I didn’t have to go through that. I have... no clue what happened to my family and— and that way I can just... imagine that they escaped to some deserted island and that they’re safe and happy away from all of this. Hyung had to kill his sister a few months later when she got bit. She... she begged him to and he— he did.”

Jungkook hummed thoughtfully. “He sounds brave,” he murmured. “I don’t think I would have ever been able to kill my brother to save him from turning.”

Jimin nodded, his movements stunted as he tried to keep Jungkook from moving away with the motion. “He’s probably the bravest of us all,” he confessed. 

“Is that your whole group?” Jungkook asked curiously, marveling at how many people had been able to stay together for so long without feuding and breaking apart. 

“No, there’s Jin-hyung, too,” Jimin said. “He’s the oldest. He has a laugh like windshield wipers and can sometimes act like the maknae but he’s so— so genuine with how he takes care of all of us. He always makes the worst puns but he never fails to make us laugh with them and he always makes sure that we’ve eaten before eating himself.”

Jungkook hummed. “They sound nice,” he murmured.

“They’re the best,” Jimin whispered. “You’d— I think you’d like them a lot too. We all take care of each other and we never leave anyone behind. Until— until yesterday... but I didn’t give them a choice. I made them leave.”

“I know you did,” Jungkook reassured, feeling the way Jimin tensed next to him in his need to make the younger understand that his group was filled with good people. “I believe you, Jimin-ssi.”

“We’re like a family,” Jimin breathed, sniffling slightly. It sounded like he was holding back tears but Jungkook wasn’t emotionally equipped to deal with that so he kept his own eyes closed. “More really. I— I really hope I can meet up with them again. That they all stay safe until we can find them.”

That made Jungkook open his eyes in surprise. “We?” he asked, turning his head to look at Jimin in confusion.

Jimin laughed through his tears and nodded. “Yes, ‘we,’ Jungkook-ah,” he replied. “It’s not healthy to be alone all the time. At least give me and my hyungs a chance? We’re not— we’re not like the Breathers that killed your brother. I won’t even tell them about your immunity. They never have to know if you’d prefer. Just—”

“I’ll stay,” Jungkook promised, cutting Jimin off. It was highly unlikely that he’d run into Jimin’s hyungs before the older man’s leg healed. And it was even more improbable that he’d realize that they were Jimin’s hyungs even if he did. And by the time Jimin was back on his feet, his hyungs would have fully accepted his death and moved on to other areas of the city or into the countryside. “If we ever find your hyungs, I’ll stay— at least for a little while.”

The elder beamed at him, gently squeezing Jungkook’s wrist in thanks before letting him go. “You won’t want to leave once you get to know them, Jungkook-ah,” he assured. “They really are the best.”

Jungkook nodded, allowing himself a few more minutes of peace as he sat next to the smaller man before sighing and standing up. “I’m going to go get the rest of our supplies,” he said. 

“We’re staying on the roof?” Jimin asked in confusion.

“Yeah,” he replied. “There’s a covered canopy, multiple fire escapes, and I barricaded five floors worth of stairs to make sure we won’t receive any unexpected visitors. And besides, it stinks inside. We’d probably get a bunch of diseases just by breathing in all of those decaying bodies for too long.”

Jimin hummed and nodded his head in understanding. “If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.”

“I found a walking cast in one of the apartments,” Jungkook said. “Let’s get you set up in that and on your way to healing before we go crazy with you helping out. Still don’t want you moving, but I’m hoping the cast will be more comfortable and give your leg better support.”

“You’re really too kind, Jungkook-ah,” Jimin murmured, watching as Jungkook ducked his head and slipped over the edge of the building and down the fire escape. 

It took Jungkook a few trips to get everything up and then he got started on setting up makeshift beds after pushing the patio furniture to the edges of the canopy and fixing up Jimin with the actual cast instead of the makeshift one. 

“If electricity was still a thing, I’d say all we needed was some fairy lights to really make this place homey,” Jimin chirped, gratefully accepting Jungkook’s assistance as he settled onto one of the mattresses. 

“If electricity were still a thing, I would have worked harder to clear out the apartment complex,” Jungkook countered. “What I wouldn’t give to play an FPS game again.”

Jimin snorted. “We basically live in a first person shooter, nowadays, Jungkook-ah.”

The younger rolled his eyes, using the matches he found to start the small tabletop grill. He made sure it was completely covered on all sides and as close to the center of the roof as possible so that the little light from the grill had no chances of reaching the street below. “Yeah, but we can’t exactly respawn, now can we? Also, I don’t have a gun— swords are way more practical.”

“So I’ve seen,” Jimin mused fondly. “I may have to have you teach me how to use one of those things.”

“Totally,” Jungkook agreed eagerly, pulling out a frying pan and scooping a can of corned beef into it. The meat sizzled in the pan as Jungkook heated it up. “We’ll have to find one more your size though.”

Jimin gasped in mock horror. “Are you calling me short?”

“Absolutely,” Jungkook replied with a grin. “I’m surprised no one’s told you before, Jimin-ssi. But don’t worry, they make small swords too— like daggers.”

“Now that’s just insulting,” Jimin deadpanned. 

Jungkook snorted, scraping the corned beef onto two plates before handing one to Jimin. “Get used to it, Jimin-ssi. Think of this as a disclaimer. I don’t play softball— especially with my words.” He handed a spoon over to the older man so that he could eat with a raised eyebrow. “Still want me in your merry band of gentlemen?”

“Totally,” Jimin assured, eyes wide and genuine as he looked over at the younger. “You’re not going to scare me off with a little teasing. I like you, Jungkook-ah. You’re a good person.”

“What even is a good person anymore?” Jungkook mused. 

“Someone who risks their life to save a stranger with a broken leg,” Jimin rebutted. “Someone who risks their safety by giving that same stranger their blood to save them. Someone that not only got that stranger to safety but has been taking care of them despite the extra work and burden that stranger is. That’s a good person, Jungkook-ah. That’s you.”

Jungkook stuck out his bottom lip, poking at his dinner. “You’re not a burden,” he mumbled. 

Jimin huffed out a laugh and shook his head in mock-exasperation. “That’s what you chose to take from my heartfelt speech? Really?” 

The younger shrugged uncomfortably and shoved another spoonful into his mouth so that he didn’t have to respond. Jimin kindly didn’t push and they both ended up falling asleep with their hands intertwined. 

Weeks passed and Jungkook and Jimin only grew closer while the elder’s leg healed. Jungkook made runs around their section of the city every day, gathering food and supplies that he hadn’t been able to find in the apartment complex as well as cutting down— literally— the biter population around their building to keep from building up a hoard. 

“Hyung?” Jungkook started, sitting down next to the elder and accepting the heated can of beans Jimin had cooked for him. He was very proud of what he could do even with his limited mobility and took every chance he could to do whatever he could for Jungkook. “Was your base close to the department store I found you at?”

Jimin hummed thoughtfully, nodding his head. “A few blocks north. We never stayed in one place long though,” he replied morosely. “I’m sure they’ve had to move on by now. It was a really nice spot, too— an old two-story dance studio— we were camped out on the second floor.”

“I think I know the one,” Jungkook mused. “The one with the blue brick and yellow awning?”

Jimin nodded again, peering over at Jungkook in poorly concealed hope. 

“And... your friends,” he continued nervously. “They won’t— like, shoot me on sight, right?”

“Never,” Jimin breathed, eyes welling up with tears. “As long as you don’t hurt one of them, they won’t hurt you. Killing is always a last resort for us.”

Jungkook nodded, playing with his beans thoughtfully. “I think I’ll go check it out in the morning,” he said. “See if I can’t find any clues to where they might have gone.”

“Really?” Jimin exclaimed softly, wrapping his hand around Jungkook’s wrist in his excitement. “You’ll— you’re really gonna look for them?”

“I trust you, hyung,” he said. “So I think I can trust you believe they’re good people. I’m willing to give them a chance for you. And besides... this place is too big for just two people, don’t you think?” 

Jimin beamed tugging Jungkook sideways into his arms for a bone crushing hug. “You won’t regret this, Jungkook-ah,” he cried. “Thank you.”

Jungkook returned the hug, albeit awkwardly, resting his cheek on the top of the elder’s head for a moment before pulling back. “They won’t know about my immunity,” he demanded. “Or about your bite. I got you out before any walkers could take a bite off of you.”

“No immunity, no bite,” Jimin confirmed confidently. “Hyungs will never know unless you choose to tell them. I promise.”

Jungkook nodded, letting Jimin pull him back in for another hug as they flopped backwards into their bed. 

The next morning, Jungkook headed out with anxiety pooled heavily in his stomach. Jimin didn’t look like he was faring much better and Jungkook gently pulled him in for a hug in a rare show of affection before heading down the fire escape. 

It took a while to get to the dance studio, Jungkook having to take a couple of detours to avoid some small wandering hordes that were commonplace in the city. The first thing he noticed when he approached the building was how defenseless it was. The building was sandwiched in between three other buildings and left no room for an alternate escape route should they have needed it. 

Jungkook hoped that they had moved on, because there was no way they would have survived all this time in this particular building and he didn’t really want to have to go back to Jimin with the news that he’d had to put down his turned friends. Inside, there were a few biters roaming around, old and decaying and definitely not any of Jimin’s group, thankfully. 

He cut them down easily before making his way upstairs. It was mostly empty, a few wrappers and empty cans littered around the edge and a singular sleeping bag near the center of the dance floor. Jungkook approached it when he spotted that there was something on top of it. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was a myriad of flowers, each in different states of decay, the newest of which only looked to be a few hours old. On the pillow, there was a note.

Our dearest Jiminie, may he rest in peace.

Jungkook swore softly when he realized that he’d only just missed Jimin’s friends. He grabbed the note from the pillow and looked around for something to write with. There was a pencil sitting on the windowsill and he grabbed it, using the glass pane to write underneath what Jimin’s hyungs had already written. 

Jimin is still alive. He broke his leg in the fall but I got him out. His birthday is October 13th and—

Jungkook paused, wracking his brain for something else that would get these strangers to trust that he was telling the truth. 

— he said that he’s the one who stole Yoongi’s Takis. He’s been saving a bag I found for him to give to Yoongi as an apology. I’ll be here tomorrow morning if you want me to take you to him.

-jk

He sighed, not overly pleased with the note but the pencil’s eraser was gone and he didn’t see any other papers laying around the studio space to rewrite the note— not that he was sure he could write it any better a second time. Jungkook just hoped that it was enough to convince Jimin’s hyungs of his honestly. He set the note on top of the flowers so that the men couldn’t miss it and grabbed a few of the freshest flowers to bring back to Jimin. 

With one last glance around the place, Jungkook ducked out of the building and headed back towards his and Jimin’s base. 

The elder looked up hopefully when Jungkook arrived only for his smile to drop when he saw that the younger was alone. 

“I found them,” Jungkook assured, handing Jimin the flowers as he sat down next to him. “Sort of, I’ll go back tomorrow and hope they’re waiting for me. They’ve been leaving your sleeping bag flowers every day so I left them a note. Hopefully they believe me.”

Jimin brought the flowers up to his nose and closed his eyes as he breathed them in. “Thank you, Jungkook,” he murmured, his face still firmly planted in the sad bouquet. 

Jungkook sighed, leaning back on his forearms as he looked up at the canopy above. “I’d forgotten what it was like to care for someone,” he replied. “So thank you, hyung.”

Jimin smiled, laying down on his back next to the younger man. “I’m glad we found each other,” he murmured, closing his eyes. 

The younger copied his movements. “Me too,” he replied, so softly Jimin wasn’t entirely sure he hadn’t imagined it. 

Jungkook couldn’t help the laugh that spurted from his lips when his eyes found Jimin the next morning. The older man had fallen asleep with the flowers still clenched tightly in his fists, resting right over his heart. 

“You look like a corpse, hyung,” he teased as he sat up, watching as Jimin blinked up at him in confusion. The older was still very clearly not awake and rubbed at his eyes blurrily. 

“Yah, I’m older than you,” he scolded sleepily. 

Jungkook grinned, reaching over and pinching Jimin’s cheek. “Yeah, but you’re smaller,” he teased, quickly rolling out of the elder’s reach. 

They ate some breakfast and Jungkook changed Jimin’s bandages before donning his sword. “Alright,” he said, glancing up at the sun. “Wish me luck.”

Jimin shot him a nervous smile. “Stay safe, Kook-ah,” he said. 

Jungkook nodded before heading down and back towards the dance studio. 

The building looked the same as before which set Jungkook’s nerves on edge for some reason. He approached it wearily, spearing a zombie that was lurking near the entrance before heading in. He could immediately hear soft shuffling coming from above, making Jungkook’s heart jackrabbit as he lowered his sword to rest at his side. He wasn’t about to put it away but he was careful to heed Jimin’s warning and not do anything to threaten his possible hyungs. 

At the top of the stairs, he was met with the barrel of a gun pointed directly between his eyes. He kept his posture relaxed despite every cell in his body telling him to slice that hand clean off before it could pull the trigger. 

He took another step forward, feeling the cool metal of the gun meet his forehead. “With shoulders like that,” he started, keeping his voice calm and slow. “I’m guessing you’re Seokjin.”

The gun dropped, clattering noisily to the floor as the man in front of him stared wide eyed at him, his lower lip trembling. “He’s really alive?” he whispered, tears pooling in the corner of his eyes. 

Jungkook nodded, slowly sliding his sword back in its sheath. “He’s back at my base,” he said. “Broke his leg but otherwise unharmed. He misses you guys like crazy— hasn’t shut up about you this entire time.”

Before he could react, Seokjin’s arms were around him and he was being pulled into a tight hug as the older man sobbed against his shoulder. Jungkook turned to stone in his grip, unsure how to react to the stranger’s sudden affection. 

“Are you also the one that stole Jimin’s flowers?” Another voice asked, startling Jungkook as he whipped his head up to stare at a young man with tears in his eyes. He was holding onto Jungkook’s note with both hands, the edges crinkled and torn from how much he must have worried it before Jungkook had arrived. 

“I gave them to Jimin,” Jungkook countered with a raised eyebrow. “He even slept with them last night.”

Seokjin still hadn’t let go of Jungkook, sobbing weak ‘thank you's' into his jacket and so Jungkook awkwardly brought one hand up to pat at his back. He was probably missing the mark on what he was actually supposed to be doing but he consoled himself with the fact that at least he wasn’t outright rejecting the hug. Jimin would be proud of his growth. 

“You, uh— you wanna go see him?” Jungkook asked when Seokjin still hadn’t pulled away. 

That, luckily, seemed to be what made the elder finally pull back, scrubbing at the remaining tears on his face harshly before nodding his head. “Yeah,” he breathed, bending down to pick up his discarded gun and pocketing it. “But, ah— we need to get the others. They— we didn’t want to miss you so we never went back this morning. I’m sure they’re starting to worry. Especially after— after Jimin.”

Jungkook nodded wearily and followed them out of the dance studio, letting Seokjin take the lead while the other man walked next to him. “I’m Taehyung,” he said after a few moments. “I’m sure Jiminie’s mentioned me.”

“I don’t recall,” Jungkook teased, tapping on his chin thoughtfully as he pretended like he’d never heard of him before. “I don't think he has.”

Taehyung gaped at him for a moment before he realized that Jungkook was just messing with him. “That’s not nice,” he exclaimed softly, not wanting to draw attention to them. “I really thought Jiminie didn’t talk about me.”

“He never shuts up about you,” Jungkook assured. “I think I know more about you than Jimin at this point.”

That made Taehyung smile, a skip in his step as he and Jungkook followed Seokjin back to where they were camped out which ended up being a grocery store that Jungkook had recognized, having raided it a few times in the past. 

Seokjin knocked in a pattern on the glass before opening the door. 

“You have a secret knock?” Jungkook whispered in astonishment, ignoring Taehyung’s snort of amusement. “Hyung didn’t say anything about a secret knock.”

Before he could get a look around, a deep voice startled him. “Tae-ah!” A large, imposing man ran over to them, engulfing Taehyung in his arms. “Jin-hyung,” he cried, pulling Seokjin into the hug as well. “What took you two so long? I thought— I thought we’d lost you too. You can’t— you can’t scare me like that.” He pressed his cheek to the top of Jin’s head, his eyes squeezed shut tight as he held them both close. “Neither of you are allowed to go out without one of us ever again,” he sniffled. “Consider your rights revoked.”

Seokjin laughed, patting the man’s back fondly. “Don’t worry, Joon-ah,” he murmured. “I don't think we’ll be going back to the dance studio.”

Joon— Namjoon— pulled back, bewildered, as he blink in confusion at the elder. “What are you talking about, hyung?”

The elder smirked and nodded towards Jungkook, who was still awkwardly standing just inside the entrance of the grocery mart. “Why visit Jimin’s grave when we could just go see Jimin?”

Namjoon startled, staring at Jungkook as if we just noticed him, which, to be fair, was completely understandable. 

“Hyung,” Taehyung exclaimed, skipping back over to Jungkook and wrapping both arms around one of Jungkook’s and gently pulling him over to the two older men. “This is...”

“Jungkook,” he offered, swallowing nervously in the face of Namjoon’s intense eyes. 

“Right— this is Jungkook,” Taehyung continued, completely unbothered. “He says Chimie is alive!”

Namjoon’s intense expression turned furious and he charged forward to grab Jungkook by the front of his shirt and lifted him off of the ground. Jungkook had to bite back the instinct to pull out his sword and skewer this man, reminding himself that Jimin promised he’d be safe with them. Namjoon was just scared, he was looking out for the rest of his group... He saw Jungkook as a threat. “I was there when Jimin died,” he growled. 

Jungkook shook his head, his hands holding onto Namjoon’s to give himself a bit of room to breathe around his shirt collar. “You left him behind to die,” he gasped out, knowing that he was hitting the older man where it hurt the most but knowing that he didn’t have another choice at the moment. 

He regretted his words when he saw the pain consume Namjoon’s eyes, his fingers losing their grip until Jungkook slipped from his grip. He landed on his feet, though not the most gracefully, and coughed a few times as he got his breath back. “I— I had no choice,” Namjoon whispered, his eyes staring far off into the distance. “We were— we were surrounded.” He blinked a few times, pulling himself back into the present as he clenched his jaw. “He begged me to leave,” he continued, sounding pained and angry and hurt and god did Jungkook wish he had kept his mouth shut. “He— he didn’t want Taehyung to see that.”

Jungkook nodded slowly. “I know,” he said. “Jimin told me.”

“What proof do you have?” A new voice asked, turning all of their heads to where two more men were standing. 

Jungkook grinned, eyes on the smaller of the two whose arms were folded defensively across his chest as he glared at Jungkook in distrust. “Jimin has a bag of Takis he’s been saving for you,” he said, unable to help that his grin widened at the way Yoongi’s arms dropped to his sides like lead weights. “And he told me, Hoseok, that he’s sorry that he missed your birthday.”

“You’re serious,” Hoseok breathed, staring at Jungkook unbelievingly as he grappled at Yoongi’s shoulder in an attempt to keep standing. “Jimin-ah’s— he’s really alive?”

“He’s alive,” Jungkook assured. “He’s got a broken leg but otherwise he’s completely fine.”

For the second time that morning, Jungkook found himself surrounded by a sobbing man as Hoseok flung his body at him, holding so tightly Jungkook feared he’d be the next one to break a bone or two. He patted Hoseok’s back awkwardly a few times, sighing in relief when Namjoon gently pulled Hoseok into his own arms. 

“We should, uh— we should probably get going,” he mumbled, completely flustered and thrown off by Jimin’s hyungs. “It’s— Jimin-hyung gets fidgety when I’m gone for too long.”

Yoongi laughed brightly, stepping over to Jungkook to pat him on the back fondly. “Now that sounds like something Jimin would do,” he crowed. 

“Is he by himself?” Seokjin asked, worry clouding over his face.

Jungkook nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “But hyung is safe as long as he doesn’t start screaming.”

Seokjin hummed and nodded his head, not looking overly comforted by Jungkook’s words. “Let’s go,” he said, heading for the front door. 

Jungkook nodded and turned around, grateful to finally be heading back to Jimin, even if he did have five more bodies to protect and feed now. He pulled out his sword and drove it through a biter that had been lurking outside of the entrance.

“Cool,” Taehyung breathed, trailing after Jungkook as they started towards Jungkook’s base. 

The walk was mostly silent as they backtracked across the city. They passed the dance studio and Jungkook couldn’t help commenting, “That was a really shitty place to hide out.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes. “We know,” he deadpanned. “That’s why we moved.”

“The grocery store isn’t much better,” Jugnkook rebutted quietly, though Yoongi had heard him if his annoyed grunt was anything to go by. They reached the apartment building and Jungkook led them around to the side and pointed at the fire escape. “Hope you’re not afraid of heights,” he said. “We’re going all the way to the top.”

He grabbed a hook he had found hanging off of the side of a dumpster and used it to pull the ladder down so that no one had to jump for it. Once everyone was up, he pulled it all the way back up so that no wandering breathers would be able to reach it. It wasn’t much, and a determined person could find a way to get up, but it kept away people just traversing the city. 

He pushed past Jimin’s hyungs gently and led the trek upwards. “Jimin-hyung,” he called, climbing over the edge. He couldn’t help but snort when he spotted the elder. 

Jimin was passed out on the bed, wilted flowers clenched to his chest like an old lady’s pearls and one of the comic books Jungkook had snagged laying open next to him. Behind him, he heard Seokjin gasp at the sight of their lost friend alive. 

“Jiminie-hyung,” Jungkook cooed, going over to Jimin and gently poking at his cheek. “Wake up, you have visitors.” When Jimin didn’t move, Jungkook sighed and sat back on his heels, glancing over his shoulder at the group that was quickly closing in. “Yah,” he barked, making Hoseok jump. “Jimin-ah.”

Jimin groaned, scrunching his face. “Disrespectful brat,” he grumbled, reaching out blindly to smack Jungkook halfheartedly. With a sigh, he opened his eyes only to gasp when he caught sight of the hoard behind the younger. “Hyungs,” he breathed. “Tae-ah... you’re here.”

Taehyung pushed past everyone, dropping to his knees next to Jimin and cupping the other man’s cheeks. Both of their eyes filled with tears at the sight of one another, Jimin finally releasing the flowers to wrap his arms around Taehyung’s neck and pull him in for a kiss filled with desperation. That seemed to be the cue the others needed to swarm Jimin. Jungkook smiled softly and backed up in order to give the others more room. 

“I’m never letting you go again, Chimmy,” Taehyung sobbed, squeezing their hands together tightly. “I’m supergluing our hands together.”

Jimin laughed, nodding his head in agreement as he reached up to cup Taehyung’s face again. “Deal,” he promised, tugging Taehyung down for a gentle kiss. 

Jungkook smiled, watching as the rest of the men also demanded kisses from Jimin. Jungkook only frowned when he realized that one of them was missing, he turned around, worry clenching at his chest at the thought of having forgotten one of them below, only to find Namjoon still standing by the fire escape, head ducked down as though he were afraid to see what was in front of him. 

Very slowly, Jungkook made his way over to the older man and stood next to him. Now that he was closer, he could hear soft sniffles and deep inhales as Namjoon attempted to hold back tears. 

“He doesn’t blame you, you know,” he whispered, not wanting to draw attention to the pair of them and bring down the mood of the rest of the group’s lively reunion. 

Namjoon released a half-laugh, half-sob and shook his head. “Yeah, but I do,” he mumbled, scrubbing at his face roughly. “I left him for dead.”

“There was no saving him without killing yourself,” Jungkook reasoned. 

“You did it,” the elder countered softly, no heat to his words. 

Jungkook rolled his eyes. “I had a sword,” he rebutted. “And no emotional attachment to him. If he had died, it wouldn’t have eaten at me like I’m sure it did with you. 

Namjoon frowned, turning to face Jungkook fully. “So you... saved Jimin for what? Fun?”

“I saved Jimin because I saw him send you away,” he said. “He could have let you come down to kill yourself for him, but he didn’t. That’s how I knew he was a good person and why I decided to give him a fighting chance. Nothing about this is fun.”

“Sorry, that came out wrong,” Namjoon said with a shake of his head. “I just— you risked your life for a complete stranger. You could have died.”

Jungkook shrugged. “Not a hard call when you have nothing to lose,” he replied blatantly. Namjoon’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth, most likely to scold Jungkook the way Jimin did whenever he mentioned his questionable will to live. “You should go over there,” he continued before the elder could get a word in edgewise. “Hyung’s missed you and I don’t want to be faced with his pout because his ‘precious Joonie-hyung’ hasn’t kissed him hello yet.”

Namjoon’s jaw snapped shut, taking Jungkook’s silent plea to leave it alone, and nodded his head. “Thank you, Jungkook-ah,” he said, his eyes filled with sincerity as he squeezed the younger’s shoulder before heading over to Jimin. There was something in his eyes though that told Jungkook their conversation, while paused, would not be forgotten. 

Jimin literally squealed when Namjoon approached, making Jungkook laugh and shake his head as he leaned against one of the support beams for the canopy, arms folded across his chest. 

“How’s your leg, baby?” Namjoon asked as he sat down next to Jimin’s hip, one large hand coming to rest delicately on the younger’s thigh. 

Jimin smiled, wrapping his fingers around Namjoon’s wrist as though to keep the elder in place. “It hurts,” he admitted with a gentle shrug of his shoulders. “But Kookie has been taking the best care of me.” Jimin glanced up, bright eyes meeting Jungkook’s and shooting him a soft smile before looking back at Namjoon. “We’re keeping him by the way, hyung,” he continued. “He’s mine— ours. You’ll see.”

“Yah,” Yoongi chided, reaching over and pinching Jimin’s big toe on his uninjured side. “He’s not a toy, Jimin-ah. Jungkook is a human being and it’s his choice whether he stays with us or not.”

“I’ve already agreed,” Jungkook piped up softly, shrugging a shoulder in faux-nonchalance when everyone’s eyes turned to him. “At least until you prove yourselves to not be the people Jimin-hyung says you are. But don’t think I’m not above kidnapping him if you turn out to be shit people.”

Jimin preened, making grabby hands at him until Jungkook relented to his pout and worked his way around the group to sit down behind the elder’s head. “I’m his favorite hyung,” Jimin declared. “And I’m not letting him be on his own again.”

“I was fine on my own, hyung,” Jungkook argued, though even he didn’t believe his own words now that he’s had Jimin to converse with. He really had thought he was better off alone, even told himself that he liked it that way, but it only took mere weeks of being with Jimin to realize how achingly lonely he’d been before he’d stumbled upon the elder. The idea of going back to that— the isolation and the loneliness— was terrifying. 

“I call bullshit,” the elder rebutted playfully, patting at Jungkook’s knee a few times. Jungkook smiled and slid his arms under Jimin’s armpits and helped him sit up, letting him rest against his chest. 

“What happened to your ankle, Minnie?” Yoongi asked, eyeing the bandage tucked inside of his cast that had been revealed when the blanket moved as he’d sat up.

Behind him, Jungkook tensed minutely, though gave no other outward indication of being uncomfortable. “Ah— I, uh— it got caught on a fence when we were running,” he stuttered out. “Don't worry though, Jungkookie found me antibiotics and cleaned it out. I’m fine now.”

“Wait— Jungkook-ssi,” Taehyung interjected, eyes wide as though he were piecing together a very complex puzzle. “Are you younger than Jiminie and me?”

Jungkook nodded, rolling his eyes when Taehyung squealed. “We’re keeping him,” he declared. “I’m finally a hyung!” Jungkook thought it was rather funny that apparently the only qualifications for him to join the group in Taehyung’s eyes was to be younger than him. He could see what Jimin meant about his pure soul. 

Hoseok snorted, wrapping an arm around Taehyung’s waist and pulling him into his side. “You’ll never stop being our baby, Taetae,” he sang. “No matter how many dongsaengs we pick up.”

Taehyung stuck out his bottom lip but didn’t dispute the fact. 

“Have you been alone this whole time, Jungkook-ah?” Yoongi asked, cocking his head inquisitively. 

Jungkook shook his head, relaxing slightly when Jimin’s hand intertwined with his. “No,” he replied softly. “I had my brother at the beginning, we floated between a few groups. Never stuck around and then— well, I’ve been alone ever since. Easier that way.”

Yoongi nodded his head in understanding, not needing to be told outright what had happened to Jungkook’s brother, much to the younger’s relief. 

“Until Jimin,” Seokjin hummed, looking at the pair of them thoughtfully. 

Jungkook shrugged. “Wasn’t exactly planning on sticking around afterwards but... Hyung’s not bad.”

Jimin tilted his head back to beam up at the younger, squeezing their joined hands proudly. “Jungkookie thinks I’m cool,” he declared, making Jungkook roll his eyes. 

“I think you’re a danger to yourself,” he rebutted. “Your natural state should be covered in bubble wrap.”

That made Jimin pout and stick his tongue out at him. Taehyung wiggled out of Hoseok’s arms and shuffled over to where Jungkook was sitting and cuddled up to his side, leaning around him to kiss Jimin. 

“Yah, Taehyung-ah,” Jin chided, folding his arms across his chest. “You let that poor boy go immediately.”

Taehyung pouted magnificently, rubbing his cheek against Jungkook’s leather-clad shoulder petulantly. “But hyung,” he whined, tightening his hold. “I have weeks of catching up to do. I can’t let Jimin stay Jungkookie’s favorite hyung.”

“You’ll never win,” Jimin declared. “I’ll always be Jungkookie’s favorite. Just accept that the best you can achieve is second place in his heart.”

Jungkook couldn’t help the grin that overtook his face, enjoying the fact that the older men were fighting over him like children on a playground. “I don’t mind, Seokjin-ssi,” he said when it looked like the oldest among them was about to argue the point further. “Jimin-hyung’s pretty much desensitized me to touch at this point.”

“How long have you been on your own, Jungkook-ah?” Seokjin asked instead. 

Jungkook scrunched his nose in thought, thinking back to when he lost Junghyun. “I think it’s been about a year now,” he said. “The weather was similar, at least— when I lost Hyung.” Taehyung released a near-silent whine, squeezing his arm just a bit tighter. Jungkook shrugged his shoulders, trying to brush off the older’s sympathy. “Hyung and I saw it coming,” he continued, ducking his head again so that none of them would see his glassy eyes. “The group we were with at the time— they weren’t the most... they didn’t exactly care about us. But we were useful, you know? Survivors. So they didn’t let us leave. We figured the only way we were going to get away from them was if we died— and we’d come to peace with that, you know? I just— I didn’t expect to survive without him.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you, Jungkook-ah,” Namjoon responded solemnly. 

Jungkook shrugged. “It’s the way of the world now,” he replied, feigning indifference though he knew Jimin saw right through it, and if the look in Namjoon’s eyes were anything to go by, so did the others. “Eat or be eaten— literally. Most of the time, the dead are safer company than the living... the worst they can do is kill you.”

Jimin shifted in his grip so that he could wrap an arm around his waist. “At least you don’t keep them as pets,” he joked, breaking the solemn mood that had settled over the group. 

Jin sighed, standing up. “I’m pretty sure, it’s about time for all of us to eat. Jungkook-ah, is it alright if we use your grill?” 

Jungkook nodded, gently shuffling Jimin off of him and into Taehyung’s willing arms. “I’ll help you, Seokjin-ssi,” he said, standing up. “We have  a pretty good stash of food. This apartment complex was almost completely untouched when we got here.”

The elder shot him a blinding smile, turning to wait for Jungkook to catch up to him. “Thank you, Jungkook-ah,” he said. “I’d love the help.”

The weeks flew by for Jungkook. There were eight of them camping out on the roof of the apartment complex now and it didn’t quite seem to be as crowded as he’d initially expected it to be when the hyungs had left only to come back with all of their gear that same day. It was definitely different living in close proximity to so many other people and since there was only one canopy, they all slept together. More than once, Jungkook had found himself wrapped up in Taehyung’s or Jin’s arms. 

By the time Jimin’s leg had fully healed, Jungkook didn’t mind the extra physical affection five more hyungs brought. He’d gotten closer to them all and he could honestly say that he’d die for any one of them now. 

Jimin had kept his silence about the younger’s immunity, though he frequently sent Jungkook pointed looks whenever the older man’s scar came up. Luckily, the bite mark was indistinguishable enough that their fence story was believable. More than once, Jungkook seriously contemplated actually telling his hyungs, but fear always gripped his throat whenever he actually went to speak about it. As good and kind as his hyungs were as people, Jungkook wasn’t sure he could ever admit to something that would leave him so vulnerable again. 

“Hey, Kook-ah,” Yoongi called, pulling Jungkook from his thoughts. He turned his upper half to face the elder, not bothering to stand up from where he was sitting on the ledge of the roof. “What are you up to?”

Jungkook shrugged, watching Yoongi as he joined, their bodies touching from shoulder to thigh. “Just... watching,” he replied. “Thinking mostly.”

Yoongi nodded. “I like to watch them sometimes,” he said, eyes trained on the zombies meandering on the street below. “Like— imagining what their lives were before they were bit, you know? Were they rich? Poor? Did they have kids? A spouse?”

Jungkook shrugged again, tilting his head so that it was resting on Yoongi’s shoulder. He’d noticed early on that the elder liked it when the others leaned on him, Jungkook included, so he made a conscious effort to do it every now and again to put that soft smile on Yoongi’s face. “What does it matter?” he asked. “They’re dead now and we’re not. And besides— the ones that turned during the initial outbreak are useless to us. You want the ones that turned after. They’re the ones with gear and supplies on them. Got my bowie knife from a walker.”

“It’s good to humanize them,” Yoongi replied softly, the frown evident in his voice. “They were people once— like us. Just because they’re not anymore doesn’t mean we can lose our humanity towards them too.”

“You try to show these things compassion and you’ll get your face eaten off,” Jungkook retorted with an amused snort. “Best to just down ‘em before they even know you’re there.”

Yoongi hummed unhappily. “Your brother teach you that?” he asked. 

“Nah,” Jungkook said, shrugging in nonchalance. “Time did. I’ve looked into their eyes, hyung. There’s nothing human about them. Not anymore, at least.”

It was silent for a few minutes, before Yoongi spoke up again. “I was going to ask you if you wanted to go on a run with me. Jin-hyung said he needs broth for tonight’s dinner and some canned meat if we can find any. Interested?”

“Fuck yes,” Jungkook breathed, immediately getting up and moving towards where he kept his backpack and sword. He was always itching for a reason to run around the city. Jungkook wasn’t used to being in one place for so long so any chance to stretch his legs was a blessing.

Yoongi snorted and followed behind him, grabbing his things as well before they bid goodbye to the others. Jimin pouted, still not allowed to go on runs because of his leg but Hoseok was quick to tuck him into his lap and shower him with kisses while the other two made their escape down the fire escape before Jimin’s sad face returned. 

The older man led the way, explaining that he’d scoped out a grocery store a few blocks north that looked relatively untouched. Jungkook felt weary at that statement. ‘Untouched’ usually meant that it was dangerous which was why people never got close to it, but he had faith in Yoongi and himself to keep their heads on straight while they were in there. Neither of them were afraid to make the call and turn back if it was too dangerous and they were both adept fighters so a few biters weren’t really a problem for them. And besides, a part of Jungkook had missed these higher stakes runs. 

Especially since he didn’t have to worry about getting back in a time limit. He could just take his time and enjoy showing off his skills to his hyung. Yoongi always looked at Jungkook so fondly whenever he was taking down biters— as if he were proud of the younger man. It made Jungkook want to show off even more. 

He didn’t have a favorite hyung— and if anyone asked he’d say it was Jimin simply out of loyalty— but he would be lying if he said he didn’t find himself catering to their smiles. 

It was an odd sort of relationship he’d found himself in. The apocalypse, as his hyungs had explained, wasn’t designed to foster strict relationships and physical affection was so hard to come by in this day and age that everyone needed as much as they could get. His six hyungs had been open about being intimate with one another from the start, really, since Jimin had first mentioned them, but seeing it in action had been a different experience altogether. Jungkook didn’t mind it though, and once they started cozying up to him as well, he fell into their arms without question. 

Those six men had become his family— his lovers— his confidants— his best friends—  and they had been patient and so, so loving as they helped Jungkook ease back into physical touch that didn’t end in violence. For obvious reasons, Jungkook had yet to allow himself to be intimate enough with them to remove his clothes and show off the marred skin that was underneath. 

Jimin had been ever-patient with him about the subject and had kindly stayed mum, leaving the revelation in Jungkook’s hands without trying to influence him either way. And, slowly, Jungkook had been building up the courage to maybe tell his hyungs. 

Okay. He’d completely decided to tell them, there was no doubt about it. But he was nervous and he didn’t want them to be upset with him for keeping it a secret, especially if he told them about Jimin’s bite. He didn’t even want to think about how the hyungs would react to that news. He knew that they wouldn’t hate him, just like he knew that they wouldn’t abuse his immunity like groups in the past had but a part of him was still scared. A part of him that had died with his brother, still held firm distrust for anyone with a heartbeat when it came to what he could survive. He also kept thinking about what would happen if another group took them, if another group found out about his immunity and then used his hyungs as leverage to get Jungkook to do their dirty work. It was a terrifying concept. And the more people that knew, the more the hyungs were at risk. 

So, yeah, Jungkook was going to tell them— wanted to tell them— he just wasn’t sure when he would be able to muster up the courage to do so. 

Yoongi’s long fingers wrapped around Jungkook’s wrist as they neared, silently pointing out the small hoard loitering in the parking lot of the grocery store. 

Jungkook nodded, unsheathing his sword and breaking off from Yoongi to flank the zombies. The two of them dispatched the small cluster wordlessly, beaming at one another over the pile between them. 

“Good work, kid,” the elder praised softly, stepping around the dead bodies to clap Jungkook on the shoulder before nodding towards the front door. “Shall we?”

Jungkook nodded again, shaking out the stiffness in his shoulders and followed half a step behind the smaller man, continually checking over his shoulder to make sure that they didn’t get any walkers sneaking up on them from behind. 

The front doors were locked, unsurprisingly, but a few of the large floor-to-ceiling windows lining the front had been broken through. They jumped over the counter silently and started clearing the grocery store aisle by aisle. It was clear that there had been a large collection of survivors hiding out in the building near the beginning of the outbreak based on the multitude of sleeping bags and ransacked shelves. There was still quite a large variety of foods left over, however, and Jungkook made a mental note that they’d probably have to come back to get it all. It would be foolish to leave it until later, especially after they’d cleared out all of the zombies from the premises which would make it easy for breathers to come through and take whatever they hadn’t grabbed in their initial loot. They’d definitely be coming back once they dropped off what they came for, maybe they’d even grab a few of the others to make the most of the trip and get as much as they could without having to come back for a third time. 

He sliced the head off of a walker, watching it roll across the tiled floor as her body slumped down to the ground in slow motion. 

“Is that all of them?” he asked, turning around to glance back at Yoongi who was glancing back and forth as they triple checked all of the aisles. 

“Yeah,” the elder breathed out in relief, his shoulder slumping noticeably. “That’s all of ‘em.”

Jungkook hummed, eyes glancing upwards when he heard a soft scuffle from above. “Sounds like they got an infestation,” he said, pointing towards the ceiling. 

“Probably rats,” Yoongi replied, dropping his empty bag onto the ground in the middle of the canned soup aisle as he started to load it with broths and soups that he thought Jin might appreciate. 

“I’ll go see what they got in the canned meats,” he announced, gesturing behind him where he had spotted the beans and meats on the other end of the aisle. 

Yoongi nodded his head, not looking up from his task as Jungkook walked away from him. The soft shuffling seemed to follow him as he went, making him frown. Rats would usually run away from noises, not towards it but he doubted that the noise could be from a walker. There were too many overlapping shuffling sounds to be just one and, while the ceiling appeared to be robust, he highly doubted that it was strong enough to hold a hoard of the undead. 

Those were, of course, the famous last words as Jungkook heard a wet thunk from behind him, turning around from where he had been filling his bag with beans and spam just in time to see another zombie fall through a newly-made hole in the ceiling. The bodies almost resembled rain as they poured down into the store. 

“Shit!” Yoongi exclaimed, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he backed up a few paces when even more zombies fell through the ceiling. 

Jungkook shared his sentiment, releasing an angry “Fuck!” before pointing towards the front of the store. “Get out of here, hyung,” he demanded. 

“No, I’m not leaving you behind,” Yoongi shouted back, swinging his baseball bat adorned with barbed wire into the skull of a biter that had managed to get to its feet. 

“I’ll come up another aisle and meet you outside,” he said, already moving towards the other end of the aisle without waiting for a response from the elder. He heard Yoongi swear before threatening Jungkook with Jin’s wrath if he didn’t come out. 

Jungkook laughed, ducking down another aisle before skidding to a halt when the ceiling gave way above him again. His mirth evaporated, turning around and running back the way he came, intent on cutting over another few aisles again. He didn’t get far though, before another part of the ceiling caved in and two walkers fell down onto a display right next to Jungkook, knocking it over and onto him. 

He swore as his sword was knocked out of his hand, skidding a few feet out of reach. His leg was pinned underneath the display and the two biters were inching their way towards him menacingly and all Jungkook could think about was Yoongi, praying that he got out before more of the roof collapsed. 

He swore again when one of the biters got a hold of his exposed leg and took a chunk out of it, nearly making him scream. The only thing keeping him was the knowledge that Yoongi would definitely come back for him if he thought he was in danger. He bit down on his lip hard enough to draw blood as he shimmied his hand under his back where he had a dagger stashed in a sheath on his belt. Simultaneously, he used what little momentum he could get to dislodge the biter and kicked its face in, releasing a disgusted noise when his foot went inside of the biter’s skull. 

His knife came free and he quickly stabbed it into the closest zombie’s brains before pulling it out and getting the other one on top of the display case. Now that the immediate threat was down, Jungkook focused on lifting the case enough to slip his leg out from underneath it, the task harder with two dead walkers lying lifelessly on top of it but he nearly got his leg free when another biter staggered over and dropped down next to him, biting into his jacket. It didn’t break through the tough leather but it did distract Jungkook enough that he dropped the case back down on his leg. Jungkook felt like something shattered, cursing his luck as he stabbed the biter through the top of its head and pushing it off of him as it dropped lifelessly to the ground next to him. 

Jungkook finished getting his leg out from under the display case just in time for three more walkers to fall from the ceiling. He pushed himself away, grabbing onto the handle of his sword and pushed himself up against one of the shelves to protect his back as they came at him. He downed two of them but the third one knocked him onto his side and his sword fell out of his hands once again along with knocking the breath out of him. 

The biter took his moment of weakness and bit into his exposed stomach, his jacket having fallen open in the scuffle. Jungkook couldn’t hold back his scream that time, using his fist to punch the zombie in the head to dislodge it. He quickly grabbed his knife again and stabbed it in the head when it charged at him a second time. 

He didn’t waste any time after that, grabbing his sword and pushing himself to his feet despite the sharp burning pain that emanated from both legs. With the help of the shelves to keep himself upright, Jungkook pushed forward, using his knife to take down any of the zombies that got close enough. He escaped through the emergency exit, a loud blaring alarm sounding the second the door opened and no doubt attracting every biter in a five mile radius. 

“Jungkook-ah!” Yoongi shouted, rounding the corner with wide eyes. “Fuck!”  He whacked a biter following close behind Jungkook before pulling the younger into his arms and allowing him to lean on his hyung as he got him out of the alley. He helped Jungkook along, getting them as far away from the zombie-beacon of a grocery store before stopping at an old, rundown outdoor cafe and setting Jungkook in one of the wrought iron patio chairs. “Shit, you’re bleeding,” Yoongi noted, eyes wide as he stared at all of the blood helplessly. “Are you bit?”

Jungkook shook his fine. “It’s fine,” he rasped out, trying to push himself upward with little success. “I’m fine.”

“That’s not what I asked, Jungkook-ah,” Yoongi replied frantically, tears welling up in his eyes as he gripped Jungkook’s shoulders with shaking hands. “Are you bit, baby?” Yoongi released Jungkook to tug at his shirt, pulling it upward and gasping at the very obvious bite mark allowing blood to soak into the waistline of Jungkook’s jeans. 

Absentmindedly, Jungkook noted that those jeans were not going to be salvageable at this point and it made him a bit sad— they were his favorite. “Hyung,” he emphasized, grabbing at Yoongi’s shoulder when the elder dropped his head down to bury it in Jungkook’s neck as great, heaving sobs over took him. “I’ll be fine,” he said, trying to calm the older man. “But I’m bleeding. I need to clean the wound and bandage it before I bleed out.”

“Stop,” Yoongi sobbed, clenching his fists in the back of Jungkook’s jacket. “Stop saying you’re fine. You’re bit, Jungkook. There’s no— you’re— you’re going to die and it’s my— my fault. I shouldn’t have left you.”

“It’s not your fault,” Jungkook tried to reassure, petting Yoongi’s back. “And I’m going to be alright. But I need to close up my thigh. That bastard took a chunk outta me.”

Yoongi shook his head, pulling back to gape at Jungkook incredulously. “You— you’re bit, Jungkook-ah,” he repeated, as though he thought that Jugnkook was having a difficult time coming to terms with that statement. “You— there’s no cure— you’re going to die—”

“I’m immune!” Jungkook exclaimed, eyes widening immediately once he realized what he had just admitted to. 

Yoongi reared back as though Jungkook had just slapped him. “Don’t joke about this, Jungkook,” he scolded weakly. 

“I’m not joking,” Jungkook pleaded. “Let’s— let's just get home to the others and I’ll explain everything and we can take care of these bites.”

The elder shook his head frantically. “The others can’t see you like this,” he exclaimed. “It would— it’d kill them. They can’t see this, they—”

“They handled Jimin’s bite well enough,” Jungkook deadpanned, needing to get through to his usually-rational hyung.

“I— what?” Yoongi asked, taken aback. “What are you saying?”

Jungkook sighed, finally seeing a glimmer in Yoongi that wasn’t purely emotion-filled. “I’ve been bitten before,” he explained, wincing when he accidentally shifted and brought the pain back to the forefront of his consciousness. “And I survived. And when Jimin-hyung was bit, I gave him some of my blood so that he could survive too.” He grunted as he lifted his shirt, the movement pulling on his wounds unpleasantly, and showed Yoongi the litany of scarred-over bite marks that covered his skin like a really morbid art piece. “I’ll be okay, hyung,” he reassured, hating the way Yoongi gasped in horror when he saw his body. “The only thing these bites can do is give me normal infections or cause me to bleed out so— can we please get back so that I can treat them?”

Yoongi’s hand traced one of the scars as though he were entranced before seemingly shaking himself out of his stupor and nodding his head. He turned around and crouched down. “Get on,” he commanded. “You’re not walking.”

Jungkook didn’t have the energy to argue any more, nor did he think he could walk all the way back on his own, so he sheathed both his knife and his sword and wrapped himself around Yoongi, biting back a moan of pain when the movement put pressure on his wounds. 

“We are going to have a very long conversation about hiding things from your hyungs when we get back,” Yoongi lectured shakily, clearly trying to keep a level head as Jungkook’s blood soaked into his hoodie. “You and Jimin are going to be in deep shit when the rest hear what you kept from us.”

“Don’t blame Jimin,” Jungkook pleaded softly, resting his cheek on Yoongi’s shoulder when it got too difficult to keep his head up. “I told him not to say anything.”

“Jimin is in control of his own actions,” Yoongi retorted. “You both had plenty of opportunities to come clean with this. I— god— what if I had had my gun and had put you down to save you the pain of turning?” he asked, his voice growing more and more horrified the longer he spoke. “I would have— I would have killed you and thought it was a mercy and I— I can’t live without you, Jungkook-ah. None of us can. You can’t hide things like this from us. We— we’d be lost without you.”

Jungkook tightened his hold on the elder in a loose semblance of a back hug as they approached the ladder. Yoongi gently set him down on an overturned trash can and pulled the ladder down with the hook before turning back to the younger. 

“Shit,” he hissed. “I don’t think I can carry you up.” He rubbed at his shoulder ruefully, no doubt already dreading the initial short climb to get to the first set of stairs on the fire escape. 

“I can climb up myself,” he replied, standing up with a hiss as he put pressure on his broken ankle. “It’ll be okay, hyung.”

“It’ll be okay, hyung,” Yoongi snarked, pointing an accusatory finger at the younger. “You will not be climbing anything,” he snarled. “Sit your ass down.” Jungkook did as he was told, staring at the older in shock. He’d never heard Yoongi sound so pissed off before and it mildly scared him to have that voice directed at him. “I’ll go get Joon-ah to carry you.”

“Hyung,” he tried tiredly. “I can climb up. I’ve done worse things with more severe injuries. And besides, no offense to hyung, but Joon-hyung may be strong enough to carry me, but he’s not coordinated enough to. Look— I’ll be fine. And if it makes you feel better I’ll go first and you can watch me from behind to make sure I don't fall, okay?”

“Absolutely not,” Yoongi growled, folding his arms across his chest as he glared at the younger. “You are not injuring yourself further. Stay put. I’ll go get Jin-hyung.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened in horror. “No!” he exclaimed, immediately clamping a hand over his mouth in response to the volume in which he shouted. “You can’t,” he said, voice barely above a whisper now. “Hyung will freak out more than you did. We— we should at least be somewhere safe before they find out.”

Yoongi’s glare did not waver, instead, he raised one eyebrow in challenge. “It doesn’t matter who I bring down, they’re all going to freak out equally, Jungkook-ah. You’re one of ours and you’re hurt. You’re bit. And you’re bleeding a lot so I’m going to go get someone who can carry you and you are going to sit there and look pretty while I’m gone.” Jungkook frowned, opening his mouth to argue again only to be silenced by Yoongi’s accusatory finger pointed at his face. “Stay,” he commanded. “Or I’ll bring down all five of them and we can hash it out here in this alley and risk all of our lives.”

Jungkook’s jaw snapped shut, a rare pout settling on his lips as he watched Yoongi climb up the ladder and leave him behind. He sighed, pulling out his sword and keeping watch as he waited for the elder to come back down. It didn’t matter which hyung came down to carry him up, Yoongi was right in that they’d all panic equally. He wondered what the elder was going to tell them and who would be the best one to come down in this particular situation. 

His questions were answered when he spotted Hoseok coming down the fire escape behind Yoongi. 

Hoseok’s face was grim when he crouched down in front of Jungkook, cupping the younger’s cheeks with large, gentle hands. “Hey, Kook-ah,” he murmured, voice sounding as though he were seconds away from crying even if he kept his expression as impassive as possible. Jungkook saw right through it to the panic brewing underneath, especially when Hoseok’s eyes zeroed in on the dark patches on Jungkook’s stomach and thigh. “You’ll— hyungs will take care of you, Kookie,” he assured shakily, leaning forward to press a kiss to Jungkook’s forehead. 

“I’m fine,” Jungkook tried to reassure, though he was certain his words held little value in his hyung’s opinions of his health and safety at this point in time. 

Hoseok turned around and helped Jungkook wrap his arms around his neck and released a soft coo when the movement made Jungkook whimper softly. “Hold on tight, baby,” he warned.

Jungkook felt Yoongi’s large hand on his lower back, keeping him steady as Hoseok grabbed a hold of the ladder and pulled himself up. “I know you said I couldn’t ask questions, hyung,” Hoseok said as he started to climb the stairs with Yoongi taking up the rear. “But please tell me those aren’t what I think they are.”

“It’s complicated,” Yoongi grumbled. “Hence why I said you weren’t allowed to ask questions. Jungkook-ah and Jimin-ah have a lot of explaining to do.”

“That... is not very comforting, hyung,” Hoseok huffed, his hand coming down to cup the back of Jungkook’s calf as though to reassure himself that the younger was still on his back. 

“Jungkook!” Jin gasped the second Hoseok stepped onto the roof, the elder immediately flocking to his side as he cupped the back of Jungkook’s neck. “Put him down over here,” he ordered, pointing towards one of the picnic tables that had been draped in a bed sheet. 

Hoseok did as he was told, gently helping Jungkook down onto the table before backing up and turning around. 

Revealing Jungkook’s front only made Jin gasp out in horror again. “What happened?” he sprung into motion, not waiting for an answer as he pushed Jungkook down so that he was laying on his back and pushed up the younger’s shirt before Jungkook could stop him. Jin froze, his fingers locked around the fabric of his shirt. “Baby,” he finally breathed out after a couple of moments of silence. “My baby— no— no!” 

Jungkook reached out with both hands to cradle Jin’s between his palms. “I’m okay, hyung,” he murmured. “I won't turn. I’m immune— I’m immune, hyung.”

“Look at you,” he cried, pushing Jungkook’s hands away gently before pulling Jungkook’s shirt up further. “You’re torn to pieces. My baby, you’re—”

“I’m okay,” he insisted.

Jin reared back. “Nothing about this is ‘okay!’” He exclaimed. 

“It is though!” Jungkook argued, looking past Jin and meeting Jimin’s eyes. 

The elder nodded his head grimly and moved to sit next to Jungkook. “Kookie won’t die from the bite,” he said. “Just like— just like I didn’t.”

There was an audible gasp from everyone except for Yoongi who simply stood back with his arms folded across his chest. While he was glaring at the pair with his entire face, his eyes gave away the worry swimming inside of him. 

“Jimin-ah?” Namjoon asked shakily. 

Jimin tugged off his shoe and rolled up his pant leg, showing off the gnarly bite mark to the rest of the group. “This was a zombie,” he explained. “When Jungkookie was getting me to safety, my leg slipped and one of them bit me. Once we were safe, Jungkook used his blood to save me. The bite won’t turn him.”

The pair gave the rest of the group a few moments to digest that information while Jimin gently moved to remove Jungkook’s pants. 

“I don’t think these jeans are gonna make it, Kookie,” he joked softly, very aware of the tense group behind him. 

Jungkook grinned. “Better call it, T.O.D. is—”

“Shut up,” Jin hissed, ripping the jeans from Jimin’s hands and tossing them to the side. “We need— we need to stop the bleeding and— and disinfect the wounds and— someone needs to go get Jimin’s boot, his leg looks broken.”

“It’s just my ankle,” Jungkook tried to say, quickly snapping his jaw shut when Jin turned his furious, tear-filled eyes on him. 

“Shut. up,” he hissed. “I need time to think. And you— you need to let your hyungs take care of you.”

Jungkook nodded, thoroughly cowed by the elder’s ferocity. 

Jin nodded in approval at his silence, grabbing the alcohol and pouring it directly on Jungkook’s wounds with a soft apology when the younger couldn’t stop the whimper from getting past his lips. Jin looked positively distraught and, for a second, Jungkook thought about offering to stitch himself up before thinking better of it. The elder was already furious with him for lying and nearly dying, he didn’t want to push his luck by trying to take care of himself when Jin was so very obviously in Mother Hen Mode. 

He’d gotten like this a few times in the past since Jungkook had joined them— when Namjoon had split his arm open on a fence, when Taehyung had almost lit himself on fire trying to make breakfast for everyone, and, most notably, when he’d first seen Jimin after thinking he’d died— however, never has Jungkook been on the receiving end of their eldest’s mothering fury. 

Jin stitched and bandaged Jungkook with startling efficiency before moving on to checking out his broken ankle and wrapping it up before securing it in the boot Jimin had just been freed from. 

He wanted to whine and tell Jin that this felt like overkill, especially once the elder scooped him up like a baby and moved him to their bed only to strip him down and change him into softer clothes before swaddling him in a large blanket. Jungkook couldn’t even wiggle his arms out of his cloth prison and he wanted to protest but he also knew that he probably deserved this treatment for scaring all of his hyungs— at least for a little while. Jungkook wouldn’t tolerate it for long but would allow it for a few days while they calmed their racing hearts. 

“What happened?” Taehyung asked once they were all settled on the bed. He had taken the spot at the top of the futon and had gently maneuvered Jungkook’s head into his lap so that he could comb his shaking fingers through the younger’s hair. 

Yoongi slowly started explaining how they had gone through the grocery store before splitting up slightly and how they thought it was clear until it had started raining zombies and they had been trapped in an ambush. Jungkook took over from there, trying to tone down on how close it had gotten, though his hyungs easily saw through him and made him tell them everything.

“But— if you’re immune,” Taehyung started hesitantly. “Then why did they still try to eat you?”

“I still smell tasty,” he explained. “I just won’t turn when I’m bit. It made me really useful to a lot of shitty people in the past which is why— which is why I was so hesitant to tell you guys. I know— I know you’re good people— that you’d never intentionally hurt me— but... but I’ve been wrong before and last time— last time Hyung paid the price for my ignorance.” 

Jin’s hand rubbed over Jungkook’s chest softly. “You know we would never—”

“I know, hyung,” he murmured. “And I— I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while now but it’s...”

Namjoon nodded in understanding. “It’s scary,” he finished.

“And it’s even more scary when people think they know how my immunity works better than I do,” Jungkook continued. “I saved someone we were traveling with once like how I saved Jimin-hyung with my blood and they thought that they were invincible and they— they got themselves killed. She— she looked so betrayed when she realized that the immunity I had given her wasn’t permanent and she— she kept demanding more and more until— until hyung put a stop to it and told her no more.”

Jimin curled up next to Jungkook, loosening his blanket prison so that they could cuddle properly. “You wanted to keep us safe,” he concluded gently. “And in the process, you put yourself at risk just like all of those breathers did to you before because you’re ‘statistically’ more likely to survive a hoard than we are. But you shouldn’t have split off from hyung and you shouldn’t have sent hyung away to fight them off on your own.”

Hoseok nodded his head in agreement, gently patting Jungkook’s uninjured foot. “If you want to give one of us your blood when we get to safety, if one of us gets bit, then that’s fine. But you’re not allowed to do this self-sacrificial shtick again and run off on your own because you don’t want us to get hurt. Because— newsflash, kid— we don’t want to see you hurt either. This— having to go down and get you and seeing you like that— so much blood— it was torture and I never want to experience that again. Do you hear me? So from now on, you’re going to be more careful and trust that your hyungs have your back.”

Jungkook nodded, blinking back tears. He hadn’t felt this safe and loved since it was just him and his brother. “I’ll try, hyung,” he promised.

The elder frowned and squeezed his ankle gently in reprimand. “There is no try, Jungkook-ah,” he scolded. “You will be more careful. Because hyungs can’t bear to see you like this again— or worse. So please— please allow us to care for you the way you always take care of us, okay?”

Jungkook sniffled, unable to hold back the tears any longer as he nodded again, burying his face in Taehyung’s stomach. “Yes, hyung,” he cried. “I promise.”

“And until you’re completely healed, both you and Jimin-ah are on house arrest,” Namjoon announced. Jimin, of course, objected but was quickly silenced by a firm glare from their unofficial leader. “You lied to us and kept a very dangerous secret that could have hurt everyone— most importantly Jungkook. I understand why you initially kept it a secret, however keeping it for this long was just plain stupid and irresponsible. So, until Jungkook is back to 100%, you can both consider yourself grounded. Is that understood?”

Jimin stuck out his bottom lip but nodded his head petulantly. “Yes, hyung,” he mumbled out, pressing a gentle kiss to Jungkook’s neck in a silent promise to the younger man that he wasn’t upset with him for the outcome.

Hoseok giggled and wiggled his way into the maknae pile on the bed, squishing in behind Jimin and peppering both of the younger men’s faces in kisses. “Don’t worry, babies,” he cooed. “Hyungs will be sure to give you lots of cuddles while you’re grounded. We would never leave you alone.”

Jungkook smiled softly, leaning into the gentle touches surrounding him on all sides and silently agreed. 

He wasn’t alone anymore.