Archive of Our Own ^beta

>Now Playing- Brother by Kodaline<

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"Are you ready to leave?" Taehyung asked Jungkook as he finished getting his suitcase together.

"I've been ready! You're the one still packing!" Jungkook teased. He'd been waiting on Taehyung for what felt like hours.

"No, I don't think you are ready. Are you sure you have everything?" Taehyung stood there staring at Jungkook with his hands in his pockets. The maknae had no clue what was going on. He'd been packed and ready to go on their trip for a while now. As far as he knew he wasn't forgetting anything. Jungkook stood silently while waiting for Taehyung to get on with whatever it was he was trying to say.

Suddenly, the older pulled an inhaler out of his pocket and handed it to Jungkook.

"Oh. I guess I was forgetting something. Thanks!"

Taehyung knew Jungkook would have easily gone on vacation without it. The kid never knew where it was, but thankfully one of his hyungs always did.

Jimin walked in and leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms. "This sucks," he pouted. "How come every time the three of us plan a trip together, I'm the one who gets unexpected deadlines?"

The three of them were due to take a maknae line trip together back to an old fun vacation spot. The place where they had all gone to film for their show "In The Soop" during Season 1. Unfortunately, Jimin ended up being tossed some projects and deadlines by the company and wasn't able to go.

"I guess me and Taehyungie hyung will have to have enough fun for the three of us!" Jungkook stuck out his tongue to tease Jimin, which resulted in him getting placed in a playful headlock.

Yoongi strolled in with a paper in his hand, his eyes slowly scrolling down it. "Alright, children. Do you have toothbrushes and socks and-"

"You made us a checklist?" Taehyung giggled.

"Uhm...yes?" Yoongi kept going, "And sunscreen. A few hats? Did you pack some hats? Let's see, what else..."

The boys silently waited for Yoongi to finish with his little check list. The older raised his eyebrow at Jungkook. "Inhaler?"

"Of course. I sure wouldn't forget that somewhere, or anything." Jungkook side eyed Taehyung and the two tried not to burst into laughter.

"I guess you're ready to go then!" Yoongi walked out of the room and patted Jimin's shoulder as he left. "You and I could plan our own trip sometime too!" Jimin followed him out and immediately started going on and on about what he'd want to do.

Before they knew it, the older members were saying goodbye to the two youngest of the family as they hopped in the car and departed for their trip. It was going to be a long car ride so they did what they could to make the most of it. They stopped for meals, took a rest on a small beach, took turns driving, and made sure to sing plenty of karaoke. They also made a few stops at some different grocery stores to help stock the fridge.

As they pulled down the long road that led to the location, the two were instantly flooded with the memories of when they were all there filming for the show.

"Remember when we tricked Jimin and made him think he forgot his luggage?" Taehyung smiled.

"Of course! Do you remember when Namjoonie hyung was playing with the boats outside and he left his cell phone out in the rain?!"

The two kept talking about the memories as they unloaded their stuff into the main house. Taehyung asked Jungkook if he was planning to sleep out in the floating house again, but the younger said he'd rather share a room upstairs in the main house. "Better air conditioning up there too, hyung."

After unpacking, it was time for instant fun.

They went swimming in the lake, kayaking, played with kites, played with the punching bag that was still set up outside, and more. Come nightfall the two decided to get a campfire going outside and grill some meat over it. Taehyung left that up to Jungkook. "Thanks, Koo. We all know I'd starve to death without you."

Jungkook smirked. "I know."

Hobi called them to check in before going to bed and was glad to hear they were having a great time. "We all miss you two already."

"Three days will go by quickly," Taehyung reassured. "We will be back before you know it." The rest of the hyungs started screaming goodnight through the phone before they ended the call.

The next day was filled with just as much chaos and fun as the first, and time seemed to slip away from them. Before they knew it, it was nightfall all over again. The two were feeling quite exhausted after all the fun and decided they weren't going to stay up all too late.

They made their way to their beds, which sat opposite each other in a small room within the main house. Taehyung was ready to pass out as soon as his head hit his pillow. On the other hand, Jungkook became more restless than he anticipated. He grabbed a small fan off the end table and started playing with it, speaking into it and giggling at the way it was making his voice sound robotic.

"Please shut up," Taehyung mumbled into his pillow. He didn't even have the energy to open his eyes.

Jungkook didn't listen, and decided he was in the mood to annoy his big brother. He kept making noises into the fan, and when Taehyung stopped responding, Jungkook decided to bother him by talking to him directly.

"Hey Taehyungie, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?"

"It's a very serious question and I need a very serious answer."

"Mhmm," Taehyung responded. He didn't know or care what Jungkook was going on about.

Jungkook sat up in his bed, eager to hear his hyungs response.

"Would you still love me...if I was a worm?"

Taehyung sighed. "Go to bed Jungkook."

"It's a serious question, hyung! I need to know!"

"A worm?" Taehyung whispered.

"Yeah."

"Worms are gross. So no."

Jungkook shot up from his bed and walked over to Taehyung. "You wouldn't still love me?! But I'm your little brother!"

"I don't like worms."

"But you like me, don't you?! And it would just be me, but as a worm!"

"No. I don't like worms."

"That's unbelievable!" Jungkook grabbed the little fan and walked it back over to Taehyung, making sure it was blowing in his face.

The maknae absolutely loved being a little brother.

Taehyung playfully grabbed him and pulled him onto the bed, starting a light wrestling match. It ended up with Taehyung giving Jungkook a hug and shoving him back off the bed. "Now, get some sleep. Worm boy."

"Goodnight Taehyungie!" As Jungkook was making his way across the room back to his bed, a flicker of light coming in through the window caught his attention. He stopped and stared outside to see what was going on and realized it was car headlights approaching.

"Hey, uhm, hyung? Were you expecting a visit from someone?" Jungkook furrowed his brows. It was night time and the two were getting ready to go to bed, so he already knew his question didn't quite make sense.

"No." Taehyung didn't open his eyes or lift his head from the pillow.

"Someone is coming. They're driving up to the house."

"Very funny. If you don't stop bugging me I'm going to go sleep in another room."

"I'm not lying! Look! A car is coming!"

Taehyung noticed the sincere concern in his maknae's voice and decided to take a look for himself. He couldn't believe it when he saw that Jungkook wasn't lying. A car was pulling up to the front of the house. Taehyung pulled Jungkook away from the window so they wouldn't be seen. The two stood against the wall on either side and peeked around the edges of the frame.

"Are you trying to prank me? Did you order food or something?" Taehyung asked as he didn't take his eyes off the car.

"I didn't do anything. Maybe it's hyungs coming to surprise us?"

They saw the car pull up to the front and didn't recognize it at all. The moonlight lit up the car enough to show that it was a small white car. None of their members, or anyone they knew at all for that matter, owned a car like that.

"M-maybe someone took a wrong turn and they're just turning around?" Taehyung whispered. He knew neither of them could be heard outside from their spot in the room, but he was suddenly feeling very cautious.

They both realized that wasn't the case when the car turned off and they saw the silhouette of a very large man step out of the vehicle. Taehyung grabbed Jungkook's arm and pulled him over to his side of the window so they could be closer as they peeked out and watched the man.

"Who the hell is that?" Jungkook whispered.

"I-I don't know." What Taehyung did know was that he sure as hell wasn't tired anymore.

The two watched the man start making his way towards the front door. The adrenaline picked up when they heard him start to whistle a very eerie tune.

Three loud knocks on the door made them flinch. Jungkook was clinging to Taehyung's arm. "What do we do? We're not supposed to open the door for strangers."

This was a rule set in place by the members when the band first started. None of them, under any circumstance, was to open a door for someone if they didn't know who it was.

"He'll leave right?" Taehyung responded. "Surely if we don't open the door he'll go away? Maybe he has the wrong house."

That proved to be untrue when the man outside shouted, "Jeon Jungkook! Why don't you come on out here so we can have a little talk?!"

Taehyung saw Jungkook's eyes instantly grow wide with fear as they started to water. The moonlight shining in through the window reflected off the boys tears. Both of them felt their hearts drop out of their chests.

"M-Me?" Jungkook gulped. "Hyung I don't know who that is."

"Oh, Jungkook! I know you're in there. The car is here! I watched you two pull in, and have yet to see you leave. I know you're inside!"

Jungkook's tears were flowing fast now as he was clutching Taehyung's arm for dear life. "If this is you trying to mess with me please stop it. Did you call someone? You win, Tae. I'm scared as hell. If he's a friend of yours please tell him the joke is over."

Taehyung couldn't hide the fact that there were tears forming in his eyes too. "This isn't a prank. I-I don't know what's going on."

A sudden gunshot echoed throughout the night. The two boys screamed and dropped to the floor in a panic. Taehyung grabbed Jungkook and pulled him underneath the bed with him.

"He h-has a-a-a g-gun." Jungkook was starting to hyperventilate. The fear inside of him felt like it was choking him from the inside out. His heart was pounding so fiercely against his chest that he was worried the man outside might actually hear it and find him.

More knocking, and then glass shattered. Jungkook went to scream again but Taehyung clamped his hand over his mouth. "Shh. We just have t-to hide. Okay? Stay here and be quiet. He...he will leave." Taehyung was trying not to throw up. He didn't know how the hell they ended up in this situation but it was absolutely terrifying.

They listened to the man roam around the house downstairs, repeatedly calling Jungkook's name. The gun went off again and the two flinched. Jungkook clenched his eyes closed as his crying got more intense.

Too intense.

He couldn't breathe.

"Hey, no no no. Koo..." Taehyung tried to remain calm and reassuring despite how scared he was. He wanted to at least try and act brave for Jungkook.

"I-I can't b-breathe," Jungkook quietly gasped. He clutched his chest and tried sucking in oxygen but it was getting too difficult. His whimpers and his wheezing were getting more intense and too loud.

Taehyung clamped his hand over Jungkook's mouth again to try and quiet him. He felt terrible because he knew it would only make breathing even harder for Jungkook, but he honestly didn't know what else to do. He knew if that man found them it would make everything a whole lot worse.

He kept his hand over Jungkook's mouth as he brought his own mouth close to Jungkook's ear. "Where is your inhaler?" he whispered.

"I don't know." Jungkook managed to get his response out in one breath.

Taehyung groaned. Of course he doesn't.

Yet, Taehyung also realized that they weren't sure where they had left their phones laying around either. They'd been so caught up with having fun throughout the day that neither of them knew where they threw their stuff.

But he did know where the car keys were. They were hanging on a small hook on the side of the fridge.

Before he could even consider some kind of escape, he knew he needed to help Jungkook breathe again before the boy passed out. He kept whispering in his ear things that would hopefully distract the younger from the fear he was feeling. He positioned himself on top of Jungkook a little bit, although there wasn't much room for movement under the bed. He knew it calmed the maknae down to simply feel the weight of someone else being there for him.

"Hey, it's okay, Koo." Taehyung started whispering a ton of happy memories into Jungkook's ear. Telling him over and over that he wasn't going to let anything bad happen to him. Reassuring him that he knew where the car keys were and they just had to wait a little bit before they could run. "Deep breaths, bun."

It was working. Jungkook's breathing slowed back down and he felt like he was inhaling oxygen again. Taehyung ran his fingers through the boys hair. "There you go."

"I'm sorry," Jungkook sniffled.

"For what?"

"He wants me. This is my fault."

"How the hell does that make this your fault? We don't know who this guy is or why he-"

Taehyung immediately shut his mouth when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. The two clung to each other and remained as still as possible under that bed.

The man was whistling that eerie tune again. "Come out, come out wherever you are. Like I said, I know you're here. I have all the time in the world. The sooner we get this over with the better."

They could hear him wandering around the hallway outside their door. "Oh Taehyung. I know you're here too. Why don't you convince Jungkook to come on out? I don't want any trouble for you. I just want to see Jungkook for a minute. You can have him come out and then be on your marry way."

Jungkook curled up against Taehyung's chest and the older boy held him tightly. Jungkook was trying to muffle his soft cries into his hyungs shirt.

"I'm not going to let him hurt you," Taehyung reassured.

The door to the bedroom flung open and the two both remained absolutely still while closing their eyes and trying to hold their breath. It wouldn't have been possible for them to hold each other any tighter.

A gunshot shattered the glass to the window. They saw the shards scatter across the floorboards and shine in the the moonlight. Thankfully the two were capable of remaining silent this time, and the man left the room. When they heard him making his way down the hallway, away from the staircase, Taehyung made a decision.

"Hey, listen to me. While he makes his way into another room we have to escape. I know where the car keys are. They're on the fridge. When I say go we have to get them and get out of here. Can you do that?"

Jungkook nodded. He was ready to do anything Taehyung needed him to do if it meant they could get the hell out of there before that man found them.

When the coast was clear, Taehyung quickly wiggled out from underneath the bed, dragging Jungkook out with him. They could hear the man searching rooms further down the hall, so Taehyung put his finger to his lips gesturing for Jungkook to remain silent as he took his maknae's hand and led the way.

They were able to quietly make it down the stairs and into the kitchen before the man caught them.

The keys weren't hanging on the side of the fridge.

"What?! No! I know I put them there!" Taehyung was not able to control his panic as well anymore. The keys were their only way out. The two frantically searched the kitchen looking for the keys until they heard a rattling of metal from behind them.

They both froze for a moment before slowly turning. There the man was, gun in one hand, and the car keys in the other. He dangled the keys to taunt them. "Oh, looking for these?"

The man wasn't someone either of them knew.

Taehyung immediately ran over to Jungkook and stood in front of him. Instinctively he tried backing away from the man, and now Jungkook was trapped behind Taehyung's back and the front of the refrigerator.

Jungkook gripped Taehyung's arms from behind and was squeezing them. He buried his head into Taehyung's back. Once again, he couldn't breathe.

"Who are you and what the hell do you want?!" Taehyung screamed through tears. He could feel both himself and Jungkook trembling.

"I just want him," the man replied. He took his gun and pointed it at them as he slowly made his way closer. "Move, Taehyung."

Taehyung stood his ground. He wasn't going to move an inch. "No." His voice was laced with fear but he tried his best to act like he wasn't scared.

"I'm not here to hurt you, Taehyung. I'm only here for Jungkook."

"I won't let you hurt him."

"T-Taehyungie," Jungkook whimpered. Taehyung realized Jungkook was falling into an asthma attack again and needed him to get to freedom somehow. He also knew there was no time for this constant back and forth.

Thankfully for them, Taehyung had at one point taken some self defense classes. He caught the man off guard and got the gun to fall to the floor. "Jungkook, run!" Taehyung screamed.

Jungkook went to run, but stopped when he saw the man grab the gun before Taehyung could get to it first. The two of them were wrestling on the kitchen floor for it. The man kept trying to point it at Jungkook but Taehyung kept smacking it away. "Go! Kook just get out of here!"

"I-I-I-" Jungkook didn't know what the hell to do. He couldn't breathe but he also couldn't leave his hyung behind. He did his best to catch his breath and he ran back, but before he could get to him the gun went off and the movement stopped.

The bullet went right into Taehyung's stomach.

"No!" Jungkook shrieked at the top of his lungs as he dove down next to his hyung. "Taehyung! No!" He screamed over and over. Taehyung was curled up on the floor, clutching his stomach as blood started pouring out of him onto the kitchen floor. He started gagging.

Jungkook was a mess of tears. The man stood back up, completely unphased, and pointed the gun at Jungkook. "Finally."

Despite having just been shot, seeing the gun pointed at his maknae's head sent a new rush of adrenaline through Taehyung. He took his leg and tripped the man, making him stumble and fall backwards. Jungkook was able to immediately grab the gun and point it at the man, but he was too scared to actually shoot.

"Go ahead kid, I'd like to see you try," the man snarled.

Taehyung reached over and grabbed the gun, pulling the trigger and shooting the man in the chest before the guy even had a moment to flinch. The man dropped unconscious right onto his face. A crimson red started to pool around underneath him.

Jungkook felt like he had floated outside of his body. This was too much for him to handle. He fell onto his back right next to Taehyung and continued to struggle against the asthma attack he was having. He clutched at his throat and his chest as he sobbed. He felt a small nudge against his arm and looked to see Taehyung's eyes slowly closing, but he had taken his finger and was pointing at something on the floor underneath the counter.

Jungkook turned to see what Taehyung was trying so hard to point at. It was his inhaler.

Once he knew Jungkook saw it, Taehyung finally gave up fighting. He let his eyes slip closed.

"No. I won't let us die here." Jungkook crawled over and grabbed his inhaler, using it until he could finally catch his breath again. He developed a new determination and a new sense of strength. He ran over and grabbed the car keys that had also fallen onto the floor before scooping Taehyung up into his arms.

"You're going to be okay. Taehyungie I promise. Please. I can't lose you." He kissed Taehyung's face before gently getting him into the car. He constantly wiped his tears as he sped to the hospital. Taehyung was unconscious and bleeding out all over the seat as Jungkook kept reaching his hand over trying to put pressure on the wound. "I've got you, hyung. You're going to b-be alright." Please don't die. Please don't die. As for the other guy, he didn't give a single shit if that man was dead.

He hoped he was.

The car pulled up to the hospital entrance with a loud screech as Jungkook slammed on the breaks. He hopped out of the car and started screaming. "Help! Help! My brother's been shot! Please someone help!"

Medics who were outside came over and took Taehyung into their care, having to immediately get him into emergency surgery in a desperate attempt to save his life. Jungkook was guided inside into his own room to be checked out after he said they'd been attacked. He sat in a hospital bed shaking uncontrollably. "Taehyung...Taehyung..." He fell into another asthma attack but the doctors were able to immediately help him with some breathing treatments. He waited until I knew where my inhaler was. He waited to make sure I would be able to escape.

He dropped his face into his hands as his shoulders heaved up and down. His hyungs blood was still caked onto his hands and clothes. He couldn't believe Taehyung actually took a bullet for him, and then shot the man. Jungkook felt as though he had his own personal superhero. And I can't lose him...

He had to remain in the hospital room while undergoing some monitoring. There were no updates on Taehyung but his other hyungs had been called. Since it was so far away, they were actually heading to the hospital on a private emergency helicopter so they could get there as fast as possible.

He wasn't sure how long it'd been, but suddenly the other members came running into Jungkook's hospital room in a fit of tears. They pulled him into a group hug and were rubbing his back and kissing him all over his face. They had been notified about Taehyung and were absolutely devasted.

"I'm so sorry!" Jungkook wailed. "I couldn't stop him! I couldn't stop him!"

"Hey, shh. It's not your fault," Jin cooed.

Yoongi figured it was time to tell Jungkook what the others knew. "The guy is dead, Jungkook."

---

A lot had happened between when Taehyung and Jungkook arrived at the hospital and when the hyungs showed up. Police had been sent to the location and they found the man dead on sight. Taehyung was still in the middle of surgery. The police found evidence of the break in at the location and immediately suspected that the man was killed in self defense, which would greatly be in Taehyungs favor later on.

Jungkook cuddled up into his hyungs arms and told them everything Taehyung had done to protect him. "He was so brave. Not like me."

"You're brave too, Kookie. You got him to the hospital despite everything." Jimin started running his fingers through Jungkook's hair as the mood went somber once again. Nobody knew if Taehyung was going to make it or not and they had no idea how the surgery was going.

So, when the news came that Taehyung's surgery was successful and he was in recovery, the members tears of sorrow instantly turned to tears of joy. Everyone started hugging each other and then kissing Jungkook's head. They weren't allowed to see him just yet, but simply knowing he was recovering was the best news they could have gotten.

--

It had been about a week now. Taehyung was still in the hospital but he was awake and coherent. Jungkook had spent most of his time curled up next to him, thanking him over and over again for everything he'd done.

"I just did what I had to do." Taehyung was informed that he killed the guy, and it shook him at first. When he and Jungkook explained what happened, the police decided to officially declare it self defense and Taehyung wasn't going to be charged with anything.

"I can't believe you actually killed a guy. That's cool as shit!" Yoongi cheered.

Jin lightly smacked Yoongi. "What the hell is wrong with you?! The boy is probably traumatized!"

Hobi cleared his throat. "Hey come on, maybe we shouldn't talk about this right now. Not in front of him!"

"I-I just did what I had to do. It was either him or Jungkookie. And I sure as hell wasn't going to let it be my Jungkookie."

"Yeah, Taehyung," Namjoon started, "If you want therapy or something. This goes for the both of you actually, if you two want therapy for this we can get that set up."

The two decided they'd probably need some therapy after everything was said and done, so Namjoon immediately got to work on it. Jungkook mentioned how lucky he was to have Taehyung there to protect him.

"I'm the lucky one," Taehyung replied. "My maknae is alive and so am I."

The two started playfully bickering over who was luckier, but Jimin shut them up by stating that they're all lucky.

--

Now it had been a month since the incident. The location had been shut down for now, but the police found the two phones that belonged to the boys and returned them along with their luggage. They'd left their phones in the grass when they were playing with the boats outside earlier in the day. The very same thing Namjoon had once done.

Jungkook and Taehyung were home now. Taehyung really had to take it easy, making sure not to move around too much as to not mess up his stitches. He also had to eat a special diet while his stomach healed. On the bright side, he thought the scar looked really cool and couldn't believe he could tell people it was a bullet wound.

Jungkook spent a lot of time trying to make it up to his hyung, he felt absolutely terrible about everything but Taehyung kept reassuring him that nothing that happened was in any way his fault. All of the members were doing a lot to make sure the two youngest knew how loved they were. Whether it was an extra cuddle here or there, or Jungkook wanting more to eat at dinner time, they didn't mind doing a little more.

They both started therapy and were doing surprisingly well, all things considered. Taehyung didn't feel like a murderer, and he didn't regret what he did. He said he'd do it again if he had to. He and Jungkook were alive, home, and safe. That's all that mattered.

Over time it had been revealed that the man was an anti who had been stalking Jungkook and knew that he and Taehyung were going on a trip together. He followed them there. The boys didn't know that the man had followed them around in some public places to eavesdrop and gather all the information he could. It scared the shit out of Jungkook, but every time Jungkook remembered that his hyung would actually kill for him, he didn't feel so scared anymore.

One night Jungkook was in one of his restless moods again and decided there was nothing he loved more in the world than bothering Taehyung. The older was curled up in bed trying to rest when Jungkook curled up next to him.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Taehyung peeped his eye open. He decided the mood lately had been so downcast that he wanted to see his maknae smile. "If it's about the worm thing, then I changed my mind. I think I'd still love you if you were a worm."

Jungkook shot up. "Really?! I mean that wasn't my question, I actually forgot all about that! But yay! I knew it! I knew you would!"

The two started to softly giggle.

"What I was really going to ask, though, is how you were feeling today." Jungkook pulled his knees up to his chin and hugged them. "Are you sure you're still doing alright?"

Taehyung swore he was. He wasn't lying either. He was doing a lot better than everyone thought. He assured his maknae that he was fine, but that he was really tired and needed some rest.

Jungkook was more willing to listen this time. The maknae ruffled Taehyung's hair and wished him a good night. Taehyung could hear Jungkook's voice grow fainter as he walked further down the hall. He had caught Namjoon and said he had a question.

Taehyung smiled to himself when he heard where the question was going.

"Namjoonie hyung, you like worms, right?"

[The End]