Chapter 78

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"Thank fuck we're back home." Jungkook kicked off his shoes, and simply dropped his jacket on his suitcase. He would bother with putting his stuff away later. Four hours spent on train, had already drained him enough, even if he had managed to sleep a little on the uncomfortable train seats. And Taehyung's shoulder certainly hadn't been the softest either. Especially since he tensed every time anyone walked by.

After collapsing onto the sofa and ordering some food so that they could at least have a belated lunch Jungkook closed his eyes tiredly. Why did traveling always knock him out like this?

"I'm going to take a bath." Taehyung stood in the doorframe, still looking a little tense. He was probably exhausted for the exact same reason Jungkook was.

"Go ahead. Mind opening the door for the delivery guy later? Just take whatever you want." He closed his eyes again, barely even hearing Taehyung's affirmative response before he nodded off.

When he opened his eyes again, not that much time had passed. The late afternoon sun was shining through the window on Taehyung, who was sitting on the carpet in front of the sofa, Jungkook had been sleeping on. He was flipping through the uno cards Jungkook had explained to him during their train ride with the original intention of playing a game with Taehyung, but in the end, they didn't have the time.

The siren's hair was still wet from the bath that he had likely left only a few minutes ago. For a moment Jungkook found himself a little stunned at the way the orange light perfectly framed Taehyung's features. The once so pale deep sea siren had developed the lightest hint of a tan, given that he no longer spent all his time in places the sun didn't reach.

As usual Taehyung's senses were immaculate. He didn't even turn around to look at Jungkook as he asked, "Could we play a round now?".

Jungkook hummed softly in affirmation before climbing off the sofa to sit cross-legged next to Taehyung. Following Jungkook's previous instructions Taehyung handed each of them cards before flipping one card from the remainder and placing it on the floor.

Occasionally, Jungkook would steal a glance at Taehyung's face as he was sorting the cards in his hands. Sometimes Jungkook couldn't believe that he and Taehyung actually were... together now? It felt so odd, but at the same time like the most natural thing in the world. His apartment would just feel empty if Taehyung suddenly wasn't there anymore.

Taehyung was just in the process of brutally crushing Jungkook when the doorbell rang.

"Food delivery?" Jungkook looked up, he had thought that Taehyung had already gotten that one.

Taehyung shook his head, pointing at the table. The boxes of delivery food were indeed already placed there. It seemed Taehyung had waited for Jungkook to wake up so they could eat together, given that everything was still untouched.

But that left the question of who else was showing up today. As far as Jungkook knew Eunji was still visiting her parents and also probably would have sent a message if she had been planning to come by.

Like a guard dog, Taehyung followed right behind Jungkook as he got up to check. Jungkook couldn't suppress a small smile as pulled his keys from the small tray next to the door. He wondered when Taehyung's vigilance towards every human would completely leave.

He pulled his suitcase away from the door to get it out of view of their visitor before finally opening the door. In front of him were two men Jungkook had never seen before, wearing military uniforms. His heart gave a little jump, uncertain how to react. For a second he felt like maybe he should run, but his response felt a little sluggish.

"How can I help you?" He tried to force a smile onto his lips even with how tense he felt. He could sense Taehyung approach behind him. Jungkook really hoped that he couldn't tell how white the hand Jungkook was clutching the door handle with had turned.

"Yes, uhm, we were wondering if you live alone here..." Jungkook thought that something was odd. The man's eyes were clearly darting around Jungkook, trying to get a look into the apartment. He seemed a little tense.

Jungkook was about to say that yes, he did indeed live alone here, completely ignoring the potential consequences of lying to the military, when he saw the officer's eyes flash with recognition. At that moment Jungkook was absolutely certain that if he turned around to check behind him, Taehyung would be standing right there.

The next few seconds almost felt like they happened in slow motion. The officer reached for the gun strapped to his leg. Jungkook, even though he felt like his body was becoming more and more sluggish by the second, moved to the side and pulled Taehyung behind him. The exact same second the man aimed the gun and fired.

Jungkook looked down almost in a trance at what he was certain would be a fatal gun wound, only to find a some sort of dart sticking out of his shoulder. He had seen enough nature documentaries to recognize a sedative dart... his head started spinning oddly and he almost laughed. But he wasn't an animal... those were usually used for animals, right?

His knees went weak and collapsed under him, but he didn't face plant into the floor like he expected to. Instead, warm hands caught him. Usually, Taehyung had his strength under control pretty well, but at that moment his grip on Jungkook's shoulders felt a little too firm as they both slid to the floor.

"Jungkook?" There was an edge to Taehyung's voice Jungkook had never heard before. His head swimming, Jungkook could barely identify the emotions mixed into it. There was fear... something Jungkook couldn't remember Taehyung ever showing in any situation... but there was also something sharp. Anger probably.

But when Jungkook blearily blinked his eyes and found himself with his upper body resting on Taehyung's lap, being held up by his arms, Taehyung's eyes displayed no anger at all. He looked horrified... and a little helpless. Jungkook didn't think he'd ever see such an emotion on Taehyung's face.

The clicking sound he had heard before repeated and Jungkook watched as a slightly different dart to the one he had in his shoulder appeared on Taehyung's arm. But Taehyung barely seemed to register the pain, his eyes still fixed on Jungkook.

Jungkook almost laughed again. Damn, he was stupid. Why the hell had he stepped in front of Taehyung. The siren probably wouldn't have been hurt anyways... maybe not even with a gun. The dizzy feeling was close to overwhelming him. He knew that if Taehyung hadn't been holding his head, it probably would have lolled back.

Maybe Jungkook was stupid... but he hadn't really thought about whether Taehyung could get hurt at that moment. He just had been scared that he would get hurt.

"Go away... they're..." Jungkook's words were slurred. He wanted to tell Taehyung to run away. They were after him. Nothing would happen to Jungkook... but the same couldn't be said about Taehyung.

"...run...please..."

With that Jungkook's vision went black.

A/N

Originally I wanted to do a double update right away, because I didn't want to leave you all hanging here on this beautiful cliff... but I also didn't want to let you guys wait any longer so here you go!

Next chapter whenever my beta manages to get all her uni stuff done... if you send her motivational messages that might be faster~  JustGoToSleepNow

For those not actively checking my message board... I finished writing predator! Currently, it only needs to get betaed before I can post all of it!

On a sader note... there are 3 more chapters left after this one... and then potentially an epilogue + extra chapters (which might include smut) :(

It took me a while to get there but when I sat down a bit ago, I just wrote and wrote... and I'm quite content with how things turned out!

I'm rlly looking forward to have you guys join me for the last couple of chapters. Thank you for all the support and love<3

(Also I have been reading so many books and even tho I haven't been writing... it has helped a lot with writing the end of this story, because it just went a lot more fluidly>.<

I have been absolutely obsessed with heaven officials blessing btw... that story is just everything o.o

Anyone here who read it?

Alright I'm done here...that was a long ass author note, but who cares. It's been a while. I missed you guys!)