Sticks and Stones • Park Jimin

xxxvi.

Jimin looked down.

"You tried to jump off the roof?" Jungkook asked incredulously, but he looked angry too. "What the hell, Jimin!"

Tae glared at Jungkook. "Kookie, not the time!"

"Not the time for what?!"

"Just- don't yell at him right now!"

"Are you saying that because he was going to jump off the roof?" Jungkook asked, scowling.

"Yes! He needs to sort himself out a bit before you start screaming at him!"

Jungkook just shook his head, staring at Tae. "What, are you pretending to be the caring friend who's just going to give him a pat on the back and say There you go, sweetie. Good as new?"

Tae frowned. "No, Jungkook," he said tensely, his lips tightening into a straight line. "I'm angry too. But let's just focus on making Jimin feel better before we make him feel worse when he's already at his lowest point, okay?"

Jungkook was quiet for a moment before he walked over to them and say down next to Jimin with his back to Jimin's back so he didn't have to look Jimin in his puffy red eyes. "So...if I tell you not to jump...will you do it anyway?" he asked Jimin blankly. He could feel the physical warmth of Jimin's body through his back, but he didn't feel the normal warmth that Jimin brought. The internal warmth.

Jimin was quiet.

"Look," Jungkook said. Then he paused, because he didn't really know what to say to a suicidal friend. "I guess 'Don't do it' is kind of cliche." He opened his mouth to go on only to find that he had no more words. He couldn't fix the situation - couldn't fix Jimin - with dull colloquialisms and adages.

So instead he just leaned back so that maybe...maybe Jimin would feel the warmth inside of Jungkook.