Chapter Text
“You all can do what you want, I, for one, am going to sleep for a week.” Hoseok waved a lazy hand as he walked up to the tan, handsome, monochromatic villa.
“Yeah sure, you know we’re only here for four days!” Jin called after him.
“I wish he could actually sleep for a week, I know I want to.” Namjoon gave a lazy smile to the house, as if he was even imagining the restful nights of sleep that awaited him.
“You can nap if you want Hyung, it's not like you're going to cook dinner.” Jimin teased lightly.
“Ha, shut up.” Namjoon chuckled, still eyeing the house with half-lidded eyes, “though you might have a point. I might as well take that nap.”
“I’ll help Jin cook!” Taehuyng trailed up to Jin with a wide smile as loosely held his luggage bags. Dragging them across the grass, letting them turn green.
“Oh, so I’m cooking?” Jin arched a curious brow.
“Quit with the mock surprise, I’ll help too.” Yoongi said, nearly deadpanned as he looked at his phone as he walked.
“Same,” Jimin agreed.
“I can help too,” Jungkook added, though not quite feeling up to it, a long plane ride coupled with even longer airport stays tended to knock the wind from him.
“You? You look like you're going to fall asleep standing up.” Jimin teased.
“Kookie,” Jin started, bringing a hand to his youngests shoulder, “If you want to help you can bring some bags in, then go ahead and take a nap-”
“But-”
“If you wake up early and still want to help, that's alright, but in the meantime sleep.”
“Well, alright.” Jungkook caved knowing he did probably look dead on his feet.
***
“Kookie! Kookie, c’mon wake up!”
Jungkook could feel himself getting violently shaken awake by Taehyung, but let his eyes stay shut for just another blissful minute.
“Yeah?” He asked, peaking his eyes open just enough.
“Food’s ready,” Taehyung sing-songed, “So get up sleepyhead.”
In the end Jungkook made his way down to the kitchenette only to see that no one was there. So he followed the sounds of talking and laughter. It seemed collectively the group had been excited about a long outside table on the beautifully crafted patio. Dishes and drinks already adorned the table and the lowlights of the villa caused a great glow among the surrounding stone, nearby grass, and trees. The sun was setting behind the trees and almost looking red through the thick leaves.
Jungkook sat in the empty chair at the head of the table, between Jin and Namjoon. He grinded a bit embarrassed when he could hear additional calls about him being late, or looking asleep.
He would have talked back, if the food didn’t look and smell so damned good.
Jungkook ate in mostly silence, soaking in the lazy evening and only contributing to the conversation when awake enough to form words. Maybe the humid air was messing with his head and keeping sleep at arms length. That, and the food was really good.
“So then, after all that-” Hoseok was trailing to a punchline when he got cut off.
“Oh, uh…” Tae’s voice broke through. He had said the words ‘oh’ and ‘uh’ but what everyone, heard was a choked sound. Closer to something that would proceed sobbing.
“Baby, what's wron-” Jin’s sympathetic tone was cut off. Like they all had done, he first looked to Taehyung, then followed Taehyung’s wide stricken eyes to the source.
A brown striped snake had wrapped itself around the left side table leg and was now slithering onto the table; sliding itself between Taehyung and Hoseoks. Maneuvering around with a high head between food dishes and drinks.
Hoseok inhaled a sharp breath, so sharp sounding they could practically hear his teeth causing the whistling sound. Like Taehyung had already done - Hoseok froze. All his muscles stiffened, flexing and tensing at once. Like a rubber band stretched to break. His left hand was still outstretched, gripping his drink. His hand so wound around the glass that it was shades paler than his already white drained face.
No one needed to say ‘don’t move.’
Like Hoseok’s hand on the glass, they all felt it. The unbearable itch to bring their hands back. To snap all their limbs towards themselves and away from the slithering creature. But they also all feared what that sudden movement could do - could bring. Really, they all felt the itch to run. Save themselves and each other, but they sat. They sat totally still.
Without words, they seemed in agreement - If their hand was already on the table, then that's where it should be. Should stay. Frozen.
Actually, they all sat like stock photos of a group having dinner. A horrified group, but impressively still.
Taehyung's inhaled breath was so shaky and wet sounding that no one needed to tear their eyes away from the slithering creature to know that Taehyung was crying.
They watched with bated breath as the striped snake continued, moving its face past Taehyung and Hoseoks line of view down towards the middle of the table. Fully bringing its whole length onto the table.
In the grand scheme of things it wasn’t a big snake, but at this moment it's length still seemed to go on forever.
They were all so still. The loudest sound was each of their own heartbeats hammering in their ears. The only things that moved were the snake itself - well that - and each person's eyes that tracked and locked onto the creature. Even shifting one's head on their neck seemed too big a risk. Taehyung and Hoseok's rounded eyes were locked in the far corner to keep watch. Neither daring to so much as shift their heads over.
The snake officially was in the middle of the table, landlocked between Jimin and Yoongi. Both were statuesque. Yoongi’s shoulders were up to nearly his ears in stiffness and worry. Jimin’s mouth was pulled tight, his teeth and jaw were aching already from being tightly clenched.
The snake was meandering, taking its awful, nail-biting, blissful time, looping around objects with ease and curiosity.
Finally and brutally, the snake made its way to the right hand side, now it looped between Jin and Namjoons drink glasses. Next to him, Jin could hear Jimin exhaling a slow breath and intaking oxygen fast and harshly. Apparently taking his first breath since the snake had been noticed by Tae.
Namjoon was frozen, pinching his cheek between his teeth, stuck mid-bite. If he was biting as hard as it looked, he would be swallowing blood once he finally released his poor cheek. Despite this, he seemed unaware of this self-inflicted pain. Like all of them, his eyes were perfect O shapes, stuck in shock. Locked in horror.
Jin actively held his breath. A solid inhale stuck inside his lungs that he refused to expel. As if just releasing oxygen that could touch the creature would be enough for it to decide to turn over and leap. Jin couldn’t help but feel the personal satisfaction and relief that flooded into him when the snake remained uninterested in him. But that relief lasted mere moments - maybe only one active second.
They would all admit afterwards that time had stopped for each of them as the snake had moved down the table. If asked, none of them would ever agree on a length of time. After all, even if the snake had only spent two minutes on the table. That time had been immeasurable in the moment. Seemingly stretched, or endlessly paused.
Another way to put it was - had Jimin ever held his breath longer? Has Namjoon ever bit through the flesh of his cheek before? Two minutes is a long time to stop breathing, two minutes is a long time to allow blood to pool in your mouth.
But there was one thing they would end up agreeing on.
No matter how long the snake had been on the table, no matter how long it seemed to be in front of them, the longest time. Surly. The worst, absolutely worst of it. The moment they all knew just seconds could last a lifetime. Was when the snake landed on Jungkook.
Jin felt the relief slip through his fingers, and his heart dropped through the floor below him when he realized that the snake passing him by also meant the snake was moving towards Jungkook.
From Jungkook's perspective, as head of the table. Or really - the odd number. The seventh member. The others made up a neat and symmetrical three and three on either end. For Jungkook, he was - in this moment, singled out, all alone.
The face of the snake had been pointed at him from the moment it had started to slither down the table. Everyone else must have enjoyed the relief of a sideways glance - the horror passing by them. For him, the small snake just moved its horrible eyes and hidden fangs closer and closer.
Instead of time feeling slow, Jungkook felt the snake's movements with an awful wound-up speed. It had seemed to pass by his band members with alarming speed. Now it was an arms length from his eyes. Maybe only half that from his chest. The snake slithered all the way up to the end of the table, and then further. Moving its face past the lip, then more and more of its endless neck stretched out.
The creature locked eyes with Jungkook for a moment, he was sure of it, but really it seemed more interested in getting off the table. But Jungkook was sitting in its way.
Jungkook's eyes were more than just wide, they had never been wider. Tears were welling up, but Jungkook didn’t think it was from emotions getting the best of him. His mind was too blank for that. He felt both full of screaming empty thoughts, and dulled to nothing. So brutally kept in the heat of the moment. The only reason his eyes were welling up was because he couldn’t blink.
He couldn’t miss this.
Then the snake plopped onto his lap.
If the snake coming towards him felt fast, now time fully stopped. This would surely never end, dare to last forever.
The light weight of the snake landing on his lap, caused his whole body to stiffen further. Even the snake seemed jarred by the slight drop, or the malleable flesh it had landed on. Its head whipped around Jungkook's back. Its most sudden movement yet.
Jungkook could only feel the snake pressing into his back and then wrapping itself around his lower back.
Jungkook hadn’t dared to breathe for a long while, now it felt impossible. There was no way he could, not with it pressed to his stomach and back. Jungkook was contracting his entire torso so stiffly - as if flexing could save him. He could only watch as the length of the snake wrapped him like a high-waisted belt, its face then poking around the other side and moving along and then curing itself around the length of his left thigh. The awful friction of feeling the snake against clothing.
Then its scaly form actually touched him, wrapping itself around his bare skinned knee.
His body suddenly pricked all over with goosebumps. As if the skin on the back of his neck, his arms, his right leg all were empathetically reacting to the skin on his knee. Jungkook felt tears track down to his jaw, tickling him something awful.
As if he was really in a position to wipe away tears. After all, he still wouldn’t let himself breathe.
Jungkook could feel his head growing light, his heartbeat hammering angrily at him. Pressing on his eardrums. Screaming - begging - for him to breathe. But the awful sight and light pressure of the end of the snake's tail slowly going along his stomach kept him rail straight and still.
Jungkook waited. Black dots ruined and tunneled his vision. His head was screaming for a breath so badly that he was growing worried that he would pass out before the snake would ever leave. Tears continued to track down and thankfully were moving down past his jaw now. Down the length of his neck and disappearing into his shirt.
All he could do was watch as the snake moved around and around his calf, feeling and watching his skin dip from the slight pressure. Then the snake moved around his sock on his ankle, before touching its head to the grass, moving thankfully behind him towards the other side of the yard.
Despite his hammering heart and aching chest, he didn’t dare inhale until the very end of the snake was off him.
The flood of air into his lungs and the relief he felt was so intense and all encompassing Jungkook went lax in his chair, his head feeling dizzyingly high and dipped exhaustedly towards the sky.
*****
(A minute earlier)
Jin had never known horror like this. Never felt so completely useless. He watched in agony as the snake moved closer and closer to their - his youngest.
Jin was only partly aware of the thought that Jungkook had never looked so young. The kid they had all met years ago had nothing on how young, innocent, and child-like Jungkook looked at this very moment.
Jungkook’s eyes were so wide and doe-like, face so round, body seeming so slight and small scrunched up in fear.
Jin was sure that time had actually frozen. No one was breathing. No one moved. Taehyung and Hoseok were probably still only side-eyeing the whole ordeal.
What could any of them do? With how close the snake was, any sudden movement on their part could still put them at risk, but would most likely end badly for Jungkook.
Then the snake actually landed on Jungkook's lap. Sitting next to him, Jin had a perfect view of the drop. He watched uselessly as Jungkook's round eyes grew even wider and filled with tears. The snake even jolted around him horrifying fast.
Jin had never ached for someone so badly in his life. How could he begin to comprehend the amount of emotions that flooded into his system? His heart felt painful for the love he had for Jungkook. His heart felt heavy and fat for the need to protect, the need for Jungkook to be okay.
He wanted to switch places. He wanted to go back in time. He wanted to take this experience away. He wanted to fix this. Anything. He just wanted to take away the fear from Jungkook's eyes. Hold him until all things seem okay.
Instead, he just stared in matched horror. They all did.
With a snake wrapped around his torso, Jungkook seemed so much smaller, so much thinner. It seemed the snake could just keep lengthening longer and longer. Take forever wrapping around him. Take forever to move down and just leave.
Please just leave, Jin's mind was chanting.
Jin shifted his eyes back up to Jungkook's face, and felt his chest ache further as he saw the tear tracks continued down, shining slightly from the very last glow of the sunlight peeking from the horizon.
Finally, Jin watched as the striped creature started to disappear into the grass, finally leaving his poor Jungkook.
A sharp breath broke the silence, coming straight from Jungkook's lips. Pink lips parted wide and fully gasped in the air. The relief that flooded through the young man was visible. Finally resting his shoulders down and collapsing backwards, leaning heavily on the back of the chair. His head was so fully back that his adams apple was closer to eye-level.
Jin was the first to move - really move.
In truth, he wasn’t sure exactly what came over him. Or more accurately, couldn’t describe just how much came over him. All he needed was just to hold his youngest.
Jungkook had in reality been so close to him physically that Jin hardly needed to take more than a single step to reach the young man.
***
Jungkook had just barely started inhaling his second breath when he felt the wind get knocked out of him. The warmth of someone’s arms wrapping around him and the person sitting on his lap came over him heavily. Unlike the horror of the snake, this person’s crushing hug was impossibly tight, sitting heavy on him.
But most importantly - blanketed him in overwhelming relief.
Jungkook reacted fast. He shut his eyes and crashed his own head into the crook of the person's neck and shoulder, inhaling deeply. Looping his own arms and legs around the figure. Jungkook didn’t need to open his eyes to confirm that it was Jin holding him. Even so, he was unsure what made him so sure of that fact. Maybe it was the clean cotton smell from the warm fabric, or just the way Jin felt in his arms?
Jungkook didn’t know how long the hug was going on for before he started to feel other movements on his body. Someone rubbing their hand along the length of his shoulder blades. A thumb smoothing along the part of his cheek that could be reached. A hand running through his hair.
This added physical touch seemed to bring things back into focus. Like the humidity of the air. The slight breeze that shifts their clothing and hair. The old taste of food in his mouth.
Sounds. Then sounds come into focus. There was also talking.
“It’s okay baby, breathe slower, you’re okay now. Please Kook-ah just breathe slower.”
“Please Kookie.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I got you, I know. I know. I know-”
The words were coming from all of them, he could make out Taehyung to his left, Namjoon to his right, and Jin right in front of him. He could even feel the vibrations of Jin’s chest as he called him ‘sweetheart.’
Then the sound of horrible gasping crying worked its way into his brain. The way he was gripping Jin's sweater with such force he was getting his fingers tangled in the loose cords. Also the sensation that he wasn’t just crying, his whole face was wet - sobbing.
Embarrassment flooded through him with rack speed.
Jungkook pulls himself away all at once. Detangling his fingers and holding himself back. His back pressed against the back of the chair. Snapping his lips shut. He opens his bleary eyes to Jin - seeing his pinched worried face, also wet with tears.
“Guk?” Jin exhales out.
“I’m fine.” Jungkook could hear how miserable his own voice sounded, clearing it and swallowing with effort before trying again. “I’m sorry, I - I don’t know what came over me, I’m fine though really.” They were all staring at him with intense focus and sorrow. “I can get up, I’m so sorry for worrying all of you and, uh- and-” Jungkook thought wildly of what else he could say, all their faces were the picture of stricken misery watching him.
“Oh, baby no.” Jin’s mouth pulled down in a deep frown and pulled Jungkook’s shoulders back in for another hug. “No, no, no.” Jin's voice was impossibly soft, nothing more than a murmur in his ear. “Please- no, please don’t apologize, I can’t take you apologizing.”
“But I…” His argument died in his throat. What? What could he say, he did feel like apologizing, but how could he say that in a way they would understand?
Jungkooks head was on Jin’s shoulder, forced into place protectively. In front of his eyes Hoseok crouched down and cupped his cheeks into his hands.
“Kookie. Don’t feel bad,” Jungkook could feel Hoseok thumbing away the wetness from his cheeks. “You're allowed to cry or just feel like this - hell, we all feel like this.”
Jimin came into view, “Kook-ah,” He exhaled, “I was so scared for you.” Hoseok shifted slightly, letting Jimin lean in and plant a kiss on Jungkook's forehead.
Exhausedly, Jungkook let the moment last, letting his eyes droop. Let himself feel the warmth of the kiss. The warmth and kindness of them all. “Thanks.” He almost slurred, “Really guys, thank you but I’m fine now, really.”
“Well I’m not!” Taehyung's voice broke through, pushing past Jimin and Hoseok and joining in on Jin's crushing hug. Taehyung wrapped both Jin and Jungkook into his hands, “Please let me hold you before you go on playing mr. macho.”
Jungkook exhaled a shaky laugh. The kindness lasted for another long moment before the silence was broken.
Yoongi cleared his voice, sounding thick and full of emotion. “Well, uh. I think we should clear out, and maybe go inside.”
“I agree,” Namjoon agreed quickly. “We - Well, we don’t exactly know what else is out here.”
That realization seemed to drop over like a lead balloon. Jungkook leaned back and looked up in time to see Tae, Hoseok, Jin, and Jimin’s shared mirrored reactions. Jungkook swallowed thickly. Leave it to Yoongi and Namjoon to be the realists, maybe even pessimists.
Jungkook was the first to speak, “Right then, I agree.” Jin and Tae both moved their arms back from Jungkook to look at him, but neither let go. “I’m fine, really, I can stand now.”
“It's not that I don’t believe that,” Jin spoke overwhelmingly softly, “It's that I don’t want to let go of you.”
Jungkook felt his heart hammer painfully. “You don’t have to let go for too long,” Jungkook tightened his grip for a moment before letting his hands come back to his sides, “I mean, I don’t exactly want to sleep alone tonight.” Jungkook gave a dry shaky laugh.
“You won’t.” Yoongi agreed quickly. “Actually, I don’t think any of us should.” Yoongi ran a hand through his hair at that thought.
Jungkook swallowed. “Oh, sure.”
“Hey,” Jungkook felt Hoseok’s hand on the back of his neck, rubbing soothing circles, “It's just to stick together.”
“That's right.” Namjoon agreed quickly, “Alright, everyone carry your own food back in and, well… Keep an eye out.”
The cleared out quickly, Jimin even grabbed Jungkook's food before he could get to it, and waved him off immediately. Nearly everyone else also turned their phones flashlights on as well as they made their way back to the villa. All in all it was a short walk but it seemed to feel longer growing dimly lit and surrounded by trees and bushes.
The once beautiful scenery and glowy sunset was now both much darker and scarier given the night's events. Even the house only seemed to be of limited comfort, no one needed to say they all wished to now be somewhere else.
So much for their peaceful break.
Jin never let go of Jungkook's hand, all in a claim it was to keep himself sane not because Jungkook needed it. But really, Jungkook mentally admitted the touch felt nice, even protective.
When they were mere feet from the back door Jungkook felt a hand on his shoulder. Instinctively he turned over.
“Jungkook, are you sure you weren't hurt, or you know… bit?” Yoongi asked with a shadowy, worried look.
“Yeah, I feel fine.” Jungkook quickly confirmed.
Yoongi’s slightly pinched face relaxed, a small, almost sad smile spread on his face. “Okay, that's good,” He nodded once, “And listen,” He seemed nervous about what he was going to say, “I don’t want you to feel paranoid or anything but, if you start to feel weird or well, anything - don’t feel dramatic to say something. We want to know.”
Jungkook nodded. Feeling a small shiver wash over him despite the evening's consistent humidity.