Can't Be Without You | Jungkook

Part 16

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Jungkook wakes up to the sound of a loud car horn blasting from outside, groaning at the disturbed slumber that was much needed, given last night's events. He thinks about it and smiles, turns to the side and then panics at the empty space next to him. He was half expecting you to be lying on your side, your cheek flushed on the pillow and dried drool on the side of your mouth, but he isn't rewarded with that sight.

He starts to wonder if he maybe dreamed it. Perhaps he'd gone here with half a mind and you're actually asleep on your couch because he was too heartbroken to leave at your rejection. But as he starts to walk towards the door, he pauses by your mirror and sees the purple marks all over his chest and neck and he laughs. He definitely didn't dream last night.

You left a sticky note on the bedroom door, saying you went out to buy breakfast and he already knows you'll be coming back with a box of croissants and walnut tarts and coffee. He goes back to bed and like a giggly teenager, reminisces last night - how you looked, how you sounded, how you felt.

He never really thought at one point in his life, he'd have you all bare and vulnerable with him like that. You've always been his best friend; you've always taken care of each other, like there was no other version of life where you didn't. But once he saw you for you, and ultimately what you were to him, it all clicked. And once it did, he couldn't think of having you in any other way, the way he does right now. You're his best friend, his confidante, his number one supporter, the one who grounds him and reminds him of the most important things in life. And he knows he's that person for you, too.

He thinks about all this and suddenly, he thinks of something he hasn't thought of in a long while - a future. He thinks of all that he can have and can be - for you, for himself. For his family.

Not long after, he hears the door unlock and he half dresses himself to meet you. You're unpacking the paper bags of food, phone lodged by your shoulder, talking to... Jiyoung?

"Just take it one step at a time, okay? Don't be too hard on yourself," you tell his sister as you look up at him with a nod when he confirms who's on the line. "And please, Ji. Celebrate little victories, too. That helps."

You say a few more things and Jungkook stands there with a sappy smile on his face at how all these years, you've been taking care of everybody in his life when he hadn't been able to. You always told him how you grew up not feeling loved by your own family yet here you are, giving all the love you possibly can to his, and many others, too.

You put the phone down and eye him up, smirking. "Nice marks, Kook. Those are the only bruises and scratches on your body I'd like to see," you tease.

Jungkook doesn't laugh. He just looks at you with tender eyes.

"Everything okay?" You ask, eyes suddenly furrowed. "I literally just made a suggestive comment and you're not laughing."

"Last night and this morning got me thinking," he starts, walking towards you.

"About what?" Maybe this was a mistake? Too fast, too soon?

He gets to you and straightens your eyebrows that have started to scrunch out of worry. Moving in together, he wants to tell you. But he settles with little steps, like what you always say.

"Visiting home," he shares, and he smiles wider at how wide you're smiling at him. "I wanna tell my parents that I plan to go back to college." He wraps his arms around your waist, his eyes level with yours. "And I want to introduce them to my girlfriend."

Your heart skips a beat at this; hearing those words seems surreal. "Sounds good. Maybe then I could introduce them to my boyfriend, too."

Jungkook laughs but his face softens at the happiness shining from your face. He's just glad he gets to be a source of it this time. And even if it's a long way to the end-goal - a happy and proud family, making his parents' dreams for the restaurant come true - you're by his side the way he wants you to be, and he's never letting you go ever again.

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A/N: If you made it at the end, thank you. I wish when I was younger, someone had told me that I shouldn't have to suffer, that words can damage you and it's not okay, that I need a strong support system to make it through, and to always celebrate little victories. So if you're reading this and you're not in a good spot, remember all that. And take care!