#I think it fits WC very well and my biggest complaint is that there were female characters who should have had it sooner

[bonebabbles]

Uh.... wh?

Honey and Shell are right.

Nightheart was allowed to act out MUCH more strongly and harshly than any other warrior

Squilf herself as deputy was trying her best to help him reconnect to their family, when he was angrily pushing them all away

He interrupted his own name ceremony and was given a new one, no consequence

Was given a huge opportunity to go on a mission to get lifesaving medicine, BECAUSE of Jayfeather, Alderheart, and Squilf, his family. Didn't appreciate this.

Ran away to ShadowClan, and then came back, no consequence again because his family missed him.

Left AGAIN with a StarClan Permission Slip to help Frostpaw, came back, no consequence for vanishing. Even Sunbeam doesn't resent this.

He does get away with shit because he's a descendant of Firestar, he's part of the family that leads ThunderClan. This all would have been treated much more harshly, and he wouldn't have gotten so many opportunities, if these people WEREN'T his family.

And now he's gotten an apprentice before Shell and Honey for it!

This ISN'T "building his own legacy." It IS nepotism.

Even the next handful of cats who get apprentices-- Bayshine, his best friend who he was basically raised with and aids him constantly, just this morning lying to cover Sunbeam, AND Finchlight, sister. Molewhisker is a random senior mentor so they're not ALL completely brand new.

TERRIBLE conclusion to Nightheart's character arc, this execution has earned a fierce, flaming F + See Me After Class

[kerikaaria]

Where You Belong

Vampire!Jungkook x Reader (Oneshot)

Genre:  (PG15) Fluff with a bit of angst

Warnings: Mentions of death and blood

WC: 5.6k

Description: It took Jimin three weeks to convince Jungkook to spend the holiday break at his family’s house. Why he conceded at all, he had no idea because Jungkook knew it was a bad idea not only with what he was, but also since he had the biggest crush on you, Jimin’s sister. He had a feeling that whatever happened, he wasn’t going to make it out of this quite the same.

A/N - Written for the Secret Santa exchange with @thebtswritersclub​ for @jungkooksbroski​! I really wanted to have this done by Christmas so I’m sorry it’s late :( But I had a goal to at least have it done before the deadline tomorrow, so at least I succeeded with that! I’m sure if you’ve kept an eye on discord you probably know why I wasn’t able to get this out sooner. And it might be a little more angsty than you hoped for, and I also apologize that I don’t write smut XD And I hope you don’t mind it being mostly Jungkook-centric :)  But I hope you still like it! Merry belated Christmas!

“Fucking Jimin,” Jungkook mumbled under his breath as he stood outside the front door to the Park residence. “Why did I let him talk me into this?”

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself before entering, but realized too late that that was a mistake. You must have been close to the front door, seeing as he could practically taste your sweet scent. Which of course only made him berate himself once more for letting his best friend get his way.

“Yo, Jeon!” Taehyung called from behind him, dragging his own suitcase as he approached the house. “What are you doing just standing there? Knock!”

At least Jungkook wasn’t the only one Jimin somehow convinced to spend the holiday break at his house. Granted he was sure that Taehyung only needed to be offered once before happily agreeing, while Jungkook took weeks of convincing to come around to this.

Jungkook raised his hand to the wood, giving it a few knocks before Taehyung could complain again.

“Coming!” you cheerfully called, footsteps approaching the door.

Jungkook’s heart would probably feel like it was jumping out of his chest, were it still beating.

You opened the door with a big smile on your face. “Welcome!” you happily greeted your brother’s friends, stepping aside for them to enter.

Taehyung nudged Jungkook from behind when he didn’t move, still feeling all too nervous about spending the holiday break here. But he quickly gathered himself and finally walked through the door.

Christmas was just a few days away so your house was already littered with holiday-themed decorations, which Jungkook happily noted included extremely few religious items. You could blame mostly your mom and brother for that—they went crazy every year, super excited for the holiday. The only thing that was left to do was decorate the tree, which was purposefully held off until everyone had arrived so you could do it together. "I know Jimin is around here some-" you started before said boy came running down the stairs.

"Taetae! Kookie!" he exclaimed, throwing himself into their arms. "I'm so happy you guys are here!" The way he acted, you would have thought it had been years since they last saw each other.

It had literally only been two days.

Taehyung's deep voice rumbled in a chuckle. "Of course we're here, Chim! How could I pass up the chance to spend Christmas with the family who knows how to celebrate it right?"

Jungkook was much less enthusiastic in his response, which was of no shock to you. You knew (because of how often Jimin would complain to you about it) that it took a lot of convincing to get him to come. But even so, he didn't look miserable. From what you gathered, he just wasn't nearly as excited about the holidays as your family tended to be.

"Come on, let me show you guys to the room!" Jimin said, practically dragging them toward the stairs.

They barely had enough time to react, let alone grab their suitcases, so you took them instead, following behind the three boys. You knew your brother, and you had seen the antics the trio had gotten up to together, so you could only expect that this holiday break was going to be one of the most interesting ones you'd had yet.

"I still don't get why you were so adamant about not wanting to come," Taehyung said to Jungkook when it was just the two of them in the guest room, going through their suitcases.

Jungkook looked at him blankly. "Seriously? You should know why."

"What?" Taehyung pouted in confusion.

"Well, I don't exactly want anyone to know about what I am, do I?" Jungkook whispered.

"Spending a few days at Jimin's isn't going to get you caught," Taehyung said, shrugging. "Unless you think it'll be harder to control or something when you're around Y/n."

"I don't know, it might be." Jungkook sighed. "You know how flustered I tend to get around her. And I guess it's probably instinct or something that sometimes I just have an urge to-" he cut himself off and took a steadying breath, trying to not already get himself worked up when he had been here for barely ten minutes. "And besides, remember how quickly you found out about me? We were roommates for only a few days before I slipped up."

"Yeah, but you have me to come to if you have any problems. I'll keep you in check, don't worry!"

Jungkook eyed the other suspiciously, unconvinced.

"What? I will. Promise. If your fangs pop out or something and you don't notice I'll tell you."

"Don't say that so loud!" Jungkook whisper-shouted.

Taehyung chuckled. "Hey, stop stressing out so bad, huh? It'll be harder to keep it under control if you stress."

Jungkook closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "Yeah, you're right. I'll try."

Silence fell between the two for a few moments before a thought occurred to Taehyung. "Oh! Did you bring some with you, by the way?"

"Some what?" Jungkook asked, more than used to Taehyung's vagueness and random questions, but still confused nonetheless.

"Blood," Taehyung specified, making sure to keep his voice low this time.

"Of course I did." Jungkook even pulled out the small bag where he was keeping his stock to show him. "I wouldn't be dumb enough to go on a vacation somewhere without bringing enough with me."

"Just wanted to check. You know I can always help if you need it."

"We've talked about this, Tae. I'm not drinking from you."

"I just mean that it's an option if you ever need it is all. I trust you not to hurt me."

"Well, that won't be necessary. But thanks, I guess."

"Anytime," Taehyung said, and Jungkook would almost think he was naïve with that big smile of his and what he had just suggested, if he didn't know any better.

The first time Jungkook should have noticed Jimin was up to something was when the four of you were decorating the Christmas tree together. Apparently it was family tradition for the "kids" to be the ones to do it, something Jimin was more than ecstatic about but you seemed to be doing more or less to make your brother happy.

Not that you hated it by any means. No, Jungkook may have been Jimin's friend first, but he knew you well enough to be able to tell you were enjoying yourself. You just weren't as enthusiastic about the holidays as the rest of your family it seemed, merely riding the flow that they set for you.

Jimin was basically instructing you on where to place each ornament, where he felt they would fit the best with the array that had already been placed. It was of no surprise to Jungkook that you followed along with his directions with no complaints. You not only were more than used to Jimin's personality, but also found your own enjoyment by making sure your brother was happy.

He wouldn't have paid it any mind normally, if it wasn't for the fact that everywhere Jimin pointed out for you to place one of the decorations seemed to be dangerously close to Jungkook. The amount of times your arms brushed together, or you bumped into each other during the time spent adding ornaments to the tree was probably more physical contact than he had ever had with you before.

And that was absolutely not doing Jungkook any favors. He was already nervous enough coming here as it was, being this close in proximity to you for so long and in a much more personal setting than usual.

But maybe he was imagining it. Maybe, it really was just a coincidence.

One look at Jimin and the triumphant smirk on his face proved otherwise.

The second time was the next day when you and Jimin were supposed to be baking cookies together. It was your mom's homemade recipe that she had taught to both of you years ago when you became old enough to make them without her help.

Jungkook recalled Jimin mentioning before that it was one of the things both of you loved doing together this time of year. So he found it rather odd when Jimin ushered Jungkook into the kitchen and insisted that he be the one to bake with you.

"But isn't this your thing?" Jungkook asked.

"I have something I need to take care of today, so I thought you could take my place this year," Jimin said. He wasn't a very good liar.

Jungkook turned to look at you, silently checking if you seemed okay with this. When you smiled at him and lightly shrugged, he relaxed. While he was starting to feel suspicious that Jimin was up to something—although he couldn't quite place exactly what just yet—he knew it was pointless to fight it. Even if being alone in your kitchen, baking gingerbread and sugar cookies with you made him feel extra nervous.

You really knew what you were doing, easily instructing Jungkook on each step. There was a reason this was your favorite holiday tradition, and it was because you really enjoyed baking. Doing it with your older brother was an added bonus, but there was just something about all the ingredients coming together to make something delicious and sweet that was so fun and satisfying.

So you focused on that instead of how much you wanted to strangle Jimin. He just had to overhear you telling your friend about how frustrating it was to be crushing on your brother's best friend a month ago. And now he was doing everything in his power to get the two of you close, trying to play matchmaker.

Which to be honest was completely the opposite of what you expected to happen. You thought he'd be mad, tell you that Jungkook was bad for you and you should just forget about it. But instead he was thrilled. Not only did he get more material to tease you with, but he also decided he was going to try to set the two of you up.

He felt like he was doing you a favor, and you felt like he was making you suffer.

Although, you had to appreciate that Jungkook was a complete gentleman. Even though working together to bake required staying in close proximity with each other a lot, he was being very careful about keeping a comfortable distance between the two of you. And if you were being honest with yourself, you couldn't deny that this was actually really nice.

"This stuff smells so weird," Jungkook said as he measured the molasses. You had already put the sugar cookies in the oven after cutting and chilling them so they'd keep their shape, and now you were preparing the gingerbread mixture.

"Yeah, it does," you chuckled. "But gingerbread cookies wouldn't taste the same without it. I promise it'll all come together."

"If you say so," he said before his nose scrunched in displeasure when he got a particularly strong whiff of the sickly sweet yet sour smell.

You laughed at his reaction, taking just a moment to admire Jungkook's handsome looks while he was distracted with scraping as much of the thick liquid from the measuring cup as possible.

For a moment you let yourself think that maybe, just maybe, the reason Jimin was trying to push you two together was perhaps because Jungkook felt the same? But then again, would he have even told him that? You were sure that any conversation that included, "by the way, I have a crush on your sister" would have been just about as awkward as if you admitted to your brother that you had been crushing on his best friend.

Maybe you should just ride the flow of whatever your brother had planned. If something came of it, then that would be great. And if not, you could put this crush behind you and move on.

You decided at that moment that you would just trust your brother this time around, even if his track record wasn't that great.

The third time was so painfully obvious that Jungkook could no longer mistake what it was Jimin was up to.

Jungkook was sitting in the living room on Christmas day. It was the afternoon, having already opened all the gifts that morning. Which was a rather interesting ordeal. Despite knowing their personalities, seeing Taehyung and Jimin act like literal five-year-olds on Christmas morning who were overly excited when opening their presents was still incredibly amusing. Now that it was the afternoon, things had calmed down to a pleasant buzz and Jungkook was actually feeling really happy that Jimin had convinced him to come.

It had been a long time since he had last spent time with other people like this. The Parks were nothing if not welcoming, and he could almost fool himself into believing that this was normal, that he belonged somewhere—with people.

But he had to reel in that thought and remind himself of who he really was. The fact of the matter was that he didn't belong with people. He was a monster, and people were his food source. He couldn't let himself believe anything other than that, even if it was something that he wished were untrue with all his being.

So when Jimin came into the room, dragging you behind him and getting you to sit on the couch right next to Jungkook and then sitting next to you, he kept that reminder ringing through his head. He had to ignore that light feeling you just naturally gave him. He couldn't let his non-beating heart run away with fantasies.

And then Jimin was up to his tricks again, keeping you distracted from what he was doing by chatting up a storm about his thought process behind why he bought you the gift you received from him today. But Jungkook saw it plain as day.

Jimin was attempting to discretely place mistletoe that he must have stolen from another room's decorations on the wall behind the couch, right between you and Jungkook.

That was when Jungkook realized what Jimin had been doing the past few days. Making you constantly bump into each other when decorating the tree, baking cookies together when it was usually something Jimin did with you, and now putting mistletoe above you?

Park Jimin was trying to set you up with Jungkook.

And it almost made him want to smack him upside the head because Jimin was being an absolute idiot if he thought trying to set Jungkook up with his sister was a good idea. It wasn't. it was a stupid, stupid idea.

But then again, he couldn't blame him all too much when Jimin was clueless to Jungkook's true nature.

He realized, that was something he was going to have to amend—right now.

"Jimin, can we talk for a minute please?" Jungkook asked, completely interrupting Jimin's spiel.

"What?" he asked, eyes going wide when he looked over and realized Jungkook noticed what he was doing. "I mean, yeah, of course. What's up?"

"In private," Jungkook emphasized, trying to sound as stern as he possibly could.

"Why would you need to talk to me in priva-" Jimin was cut off when Jungkook quickly got up, yanking him off the couch and dragging him upstairs to the guest bedroom, leaving you behind on the couch and very confused.

After shutting the door behind him, Jungkook firmly stared down Jimin. "What are you doing?"

"Huh?" Jimin asked, his heartrate increasing—whether out of fear or nervousness Jungkook couldn't tell. "W-what do you mean?"

"Are you trying to set me up with Y/n?" Jungkook asked more directly.

It was then that Jungkook realized it wasn't just the two of them in the room, when he heard a very surprised Taehyung almost comically scream, "What?!"

He took a quick look around to make sure there was no one else in the room who couldn't hear what Jungkook was about to admit, what he thought he would never purposefully tell anyone. Once confirming that it was just the three of them in the room, Jungkook continued.

"Is that what's going on?" he pressed. "You're trying to push us together, aren't you?"

"Wh- I mean," Jimin started, clearly very flustered. "What's so wrong about that, huh? I could have sworn that you were into Y/n by the way that you look at her with those googly doe eyes of yours."

Jungkook sighed. He didn't realize he had been that obvious, and especially in front of Jimin of all people. "Jimin, I can't. You don't want me to date your sister."

"Well it's not up to me, is it?" Jimin asked, starting to get defensive. "I don't get to dictate what she does and who she dates. So what if I'm trying to help her out? And what's wrong with dating my sister? What, is she not good enough for you or something?"

"No! That's not what I mean." Jungkook ran a hand down his face, pacing for a moment while he gathered the courage he needed to tell Jimin who—what—he was. "Jimin, you don't understand. I'm the problem. I can't date your sister, even if I wanted to. I'm-"

Jungkook was cut off when Taehyung leapt off the bed and stood next to Jungkook, firmly digging a hand into his shoulder. "Kook, what are you doing?" he harshly whispered.

"I'm telling Jimin what I really am," Jungkook replied, voice still at normal volume. "I can't exactly let him think that I'm a good idea for Y/n."

"Are you sure you want to do that? You don't know how he'll react."

"What is going on?" Jimin asked, getting more confused by the second. "What do you mean, Jungkook?"

Pushing Taehyung's hand off his shoulder, Jungkook braced himself to potentially lose one of his best friends. "I'm not human, Jimin." When Jimin very rightfully just stared at him confused, Jungkook added, "Well, I mean I used to be. But I'm not anymore."

"What the heck are you talking about? That doesn’t even make sense,” Jimin said, taking a step back from him. “You sound crazy right now, Jungkook.”

“I know how it sounds. But I can prove it to you. And if you don’t want anything to do with me afterwards, I understand. That’s a risk I’m willing to take. But I just can’t- I need you to understand that your sister shouldn’t be with me, or even interested in me. No one should be.”

While Jimin still couldn’t understand what his friend was talking about, he had enough respect for him to hear him out so he remained silent while Jungkook grabbed a small bag from his suitcase.

“I used to be human,” Jungkook repeated, voice small. “But sixteen years ago my life ended, in more ways than one.” He unzipped the bag, pulling out an even smaller pouch of what Jimin could have sworn looked like blood.

"I had been on my way home alone late at night after going out with some friends," Jungkook continued. "I was dragged into an alleyway, and it was so dark I couldn't see anything. Except for a pair of bright red eyes. Next thing I knew, there was a sharp pain in my neck and I could feel my body going cold as he drained all the blood from my body."

When Jungkook paused, Jimin couldn't help but interject. "Wait. Are you telling me that you got attacked by like, a vampire? Vampires don't exist, Jungkook."

"I didn't think they did either, until I was left for dead by one." The sadness in Jungkook's eyes over recalling the memory felt like it was piercing into Jimin's soul. "I had to piece this part together later since I obviously don't remember it, but I was found the next morning. Buried just a few days later. Before they had covered my coffin though, I had woken up. But I wasn't human anymore."

By this point, Jungkook looked on the verge of tears. Taehyung was still next to him, now comforting Jungkook with a gentle hand on his lower back. "I don't remember much about my first moments as a vampire. All I know is that I was so hungry and I just went wherever my feet took me. I don't think I ended up hurting anyone, at least. When I started to come to, I was in the woods near the cemetery with a deer lying beside me and blood dripping from my mouth."

Jungkook paused, letting Jimin absorb the information.

"Wha-" Jimin stumbled over his words. "But you were dead? I thought- I mean- in stories or whatever, people don't die before they become vampires, right?"

"In some, I guess," Jungkook shrugged. "I've met other vampires since and have asked about how that worked. And from what I've been told, if a vampire feeds off of a human but doesn't drain too much blood, the human will be fine. When the human is completely drained, then obviously they die. But sometimes, the vampire doesn't completely kill them. They think they've drained all their blood and leave them, but there's actually still a little bit of life left in them. That's what happened to me.

"I was so close to death that everyone thought I was dead. But there was still barely that tiny sliver of life left in me. That's how a human becomes a vampire. Kind of messed up if you ask me, that it's usually unintentional."

"So, what you're saying is that you're a vampire," Jimin very smartly summed up. "And you're telling me because I was trying to set you up with Y/n and you think that's a bad idea because you're a vampire."

Jungkook nodded. "Yes, exactly."

"And you knew about this, Tae?" Jimin asked. When Taehyung nodded, he further asked, "How long have you known?"

"I found out the first week we were roommates at school," he responded. “Jungkook hadn’t fed in too long and I saw it.”

Jimin’s gaze snapped back to Jungkook. “Show me.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened, a bit taken aback at the sudden command. He expected Jimin to want proof, but to be asked so suddenly was unexpected. Once he gathered himself, Jungkook nodded. He opened his mouth just enough before letting his fangs extend, making sure Jimin saw it happen. Once they were fully extended, his eyes turned an unnatural bright red—a warning of danger.

Jungkook could sense Jimin's heartrate speed up once more, a natural reaction to being so close to a monster like him. But in true Jimin nature, he was quick to control himself, forcing his heart to calm down.

"You really are..." Jimin marveled as he slowly stepped toward Jungkook. The latter stood as still as possible, not wanting to make any moves that would scare him off. "I can't believe vampires exist."

"We do," Jungkook said, sounding almost solemn. "I don't belong with your sister. I don't belong with anyone. I haven't for sixteen years and I never will ever again."

"Aren't there, like, vampire communities?" Jimin asked, remaining a lot calmer than Jungkook expected.

"There are," he confirmed. "But I haven't found one that I'm willing to be a part of. The ones I've come across all enable each other to be violent and not fight their instincts. I don't want that. I've been told I'll grow out of it, that most vampires are like that at first but they all give in at some point."

"And how long do they say it takes other vampires to do that?"

Jungkook shrugged. "Usually by ten years or so."

"But you still don't want that," Jimin clarified.

"Not at all. I can't even imagine hurting someone. And I have met one other vampire who is like me. Seokjin-hyung has been around far longer than me and he has a way of getting blood safely, without hurting people. He's how I get these." Jungkook lifted the packet in his hand, which Jimin could no longer question what was contained in it. "Others say it's unnatural, that there's nothing like getting food from the source, but this satisfies me perfectly fine."

"And Tae, you've never been scared of him?" Jimin asked.

"I mean, at first I was a bit sure," Taehyung answered. "I didn't know what was going on and I kind of freaked out. But I've never once thought he would hurt me. I trust him."

Jimin locked eyes with Jungkook. a serious expression on his face. "Then I trust you," he said.

Jungkook's eyes widened in surprise, a tentative smile growing on his face. "Really? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Jimin assured him. "And I know what you mean about Y/n, I understand why you wanted me to stop trying to set the two of you up. But you do like her, don't you?"

Jungkook broke their eye contact, too embarrassed to admit something like that while looking at her brother. "I mean, I do," he whispered. "I couldn't help it. But, you don't have to worry about that! I won't try to pursue her or anything, I swear."

Jimin walked toward the door as he said, “I did mean what I said earlier. I don’t have any say in what she does or who she dates, even if I am her big brother and want her to be safe. So as long as I trust that she’d be okay, I wouldn’t stop her from doing anything.”

Your eyes widened when your brother opened the door in front of you.

“Why don’t you come in here instead of eavesdropping from the hallway, yeah?” he asked.

You looked at the ground as you stepped forward, embarrassed that you had been caught. You really hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but when you had passed by the door on the way to your own room, you heard them talking about you so you stopped. And then Jungkook started talking about not being human and... Well, before you realized it you were listening in.

Your thoughts were all over the place after hearing Jungkook's story. You were overwhelmed with the idea that vampires existed, angry at that man—vampire, you corrected yourself—for what he had done to Jungkook, and sad for Jungkook and what he had gone through. You could only imagine how lonely he must have felt. How lonely he was still feeling.

One thing that he said kept repeating itself in your head. 'I don't belong with anyone. I haven't for sixteen years and I never will ever again.'

Once you were inside the room and Jimin closed the door, you lifted your head and met Jungkook's gaze.

His fangs were visible and you could see a red hue to his eyes, but only for a moment before Jungkook seemed to realize that he hadn't hidden them yet and quickly retracted them. In a split second he once again looked like the Jungkook you were familiar with.

But should you have been worried that seeing his other nature didn't scare you one bit?

"Y-Y/n," Jungkook stumbled out. "I didn't know you were listening... How much did you hear?"

"I'm sorry for eavesdropping," you said. "I didn't mean to, I just- when I passed by you guys were talking about me and then you started talking about your story and I just-" you bowed your head in shame. "I shouldn't have listened in. I'm sorry."

"So you heard everything then?" Jungkook quietly asked.

"I think so," you admitted.

"I can leave tomorrow," Jungkook suddenly said, making your head snap back up.

"What? Why?" you asked.

Jungkook's brows furrowed. "Why would you want something like me here? Knowing what I am now, why would you want me staying in your house?"

"Jungkook," Taehyung whined, a frown on his face.

You saw Jimin glance at you out of the corner of your eye. "We never said we wanted you to leave," he said. "It'd probably be best not to tell our parents, but there's no reason you should have to go."

Jungkook looked even more confused. "But, I-"

"Deserve to enjoy the holidays with people who care about you," you finished for him. He looked at you, clearly shocked. "It sounded like you've felt so lonely. I could only imagine how you feel. Not fitting in with others like you and feeling like you shouldn't belong with people like us. But there's no reason you shouldn't be here. When was the last time you spent a holiday with someone before today?"

Jungkook was speechless for a minute before his expression softened. "Not since I died. I couldn't exactly go back to my family after that. I haven't seen them since and have always reminded myself since then that I don't belong."

"But you do," you insisted, taking a step toward him. "Just because you're different than us doesn't mean you can't belong."

"I could hurt you! Why aren't you afraid of me?”

“Because we know you wouldn’t hurt us,” Taehyung said. “If you wanted to, you would have a long time ago. And you wouldn’t have been so hesitant in coming here.”

“And you wouldn’t have admitted a secret that could have ruined our friendship just because you were concerned about my sister’s safety,” Jimin said. “Out of everything you’ve said today, there’s one main thing that I understand—you’re still the same exact Jungkook I’ve known for the past few years. None of this changes that.”

Tears brimmed at the corners of Jungkook’s eyes. “It should," he almost whispered.

“I can’t understand how you feel,” you said. "I couldn't even begin to try. But I think you're scared because you've been telling yourself that you don't belong anywhere for so long. You could belong here if you wanted to. Do you want to?"

His eyes met yours, tears now falling down his face. He took a moment to think before softly nodding. "I do," he admitted.

"Then you do," Jimin said, stepping up next to you to place a hand on Jungkook's shoulder. "You don't have to leave. Not now, and not in the future."

"If I haven't abandoned you yet, you can expect I'm not ever going to," Taehyung added.

After a moment of silence between the four of you, Jimin gave Jungkook's shoulder another squeeze. "Tae, I think you and I should probably leave so these two can talk," he said.

Taehyung nodded. "Good idea." He gave you a knowing smile as he followed your brother out.

When the door closed once more, Jungkook was the first to talk. "You don't have to-"

"I like you too, Jungkook," you said.

He looked at you in surprise for a moment before saying, "Y/n, you know what I am now. You really shouldn't."

"I don't care." There wasn't an ounce of hesitation in your voice, and Jungkook didn't sense any change in your heartrate, assuring him that you were telling the truth. "When I heard you talking, I felt a lot of things. But fear wasn't one of them. Even when I saw your fangs and your eyes, I wasn't scared. Not one little bit. You're still Jungkook, my brother's best friend who I've had a crush on for an embarrassingly long time," you chuckled.

Jungkook's gaze on you had softened to something much more tender, a sparkle in his eyes that you were now realizing you were strangely familiar with. "Do you realize what that means though?" he asked. "A crush is one thing, but what if it becomes something more, Y/n? I'm not going to age with you. We couldn't stay together because before long, I'm going to look more like your son than a friend or boyfriend. And I'm for sure going to outlive you, unless someone does me in before then. Is that really something you want?"

"I think that's something that we should have the chance to decide together," you said. "If this continues to something more and we want to keep going with this then we can decide what we want to do from there. If we care about each other enough to make it worth it, or not. All I know is that right now, I really like you, Jungkook. And if you like me the same then I want to give this a shot. I trust you."

Jungkook felt like he was about to cry again. He had hope at one point soon after his death that he might get lucky to find people like Jimin and Taehyung, maybe even possibly someone like you, but he had quickly lost that hope. That feeling coming back, even in the smallest amount, was overwhelming and it made him want to go along with what you were saying.

Before he could let himself think too hard and talk himself out of it, he carefully nodded. "Okay," he whispered. "If you think you can handle being okay with making a decision like that in the future, then I trust you too."

The smile you graced him with was blinding, and it made all of his insecurities about the situation fade away. He managed to smile back at you, but only for just barely a moment before you placed your lips against his.

It was the first of many kisses that the two of you would share for many, many years to come.

If you’d like to donate to my Ko-fi, feel free! Absolutely no pressure though :)

[its-fallinallinshawn]

Balancing Act - Chapter 1

authors note: thanks for reading!! feedback is always appreciated :)

summary: shawn is on a world tour. whitney just won five more olympic gold medals. their lives seemed to be so individually perfect and most importantly, parallel. their paths haven't crossed in over a year but that was always bound to change when they share a manager.  

Warnings: none

WC: 2,676

@briancraigen_: this tour is about to become a whole lot more dangerous, happy to have ya back @whitneymcquinn

@shawnssmile: omg what

@mendesluvr: wait what about camila

@whitneymcquinn: mwhahahahhaah

@smendesbby: WE STAN THIS QUEEN coming to save us from the Shawmila clown show

Let’s go to the bars! Let’s go to the bars!” Brian chanted for what seemed like the millionth time. Whitney laughed at her friend and continued putting the finishing touches on her makeup.

“On a scale of 1-10 how mad do you think Andrew would be if we skipped the concert and just went to the bars before everybody else?” Whitney asked, still preoccupied with getting ready. She smoothed out her strappy creme satin dress and began putting her black shoes on while she awaited Brian’s answer.

“Don’t you two dare. He’d be very mad Whitney Jane.” Andrew interjected, talking about himself in the third person, as he hopped into the tour bus just in time to hear the two 21-year old’s conspiring against him.

Whitney sighed and looked at Brian. They had to go. As much as Whitney did not want to see Shawn, she knew better than to piss Andrew off this early in the tour, especially when she had to spend basically the entirety of the tour with him. Plus, she’d have to see Shawn at some point, might as well be when she looks hot and ready to go out versus in her sweatpants with no makeup. Brian seemed to have a whole other set of reasons for not wanting to attend his best friends show. Whitney hadn’t been around for longer than a week, but she could already tell Shawn’s friends were not liking this new and Camila approved version of Shawn. It wasn’t hard to pick up on considering Brian’s endless supply of jokes about the two, but Whitney was interested to see the dynamic for herself.

“Whit, we’re already late. You look hot, like really hot. You can stop getting ready now. You could have no makeup on and be dressed in a paper bag and I guarantee Shawn would still die when he sees you. Plus, we have to get there before Shawn sings all his songs about you in front of Camila. I wanna see him squirm.” Brian said as he grabbed Whitney’s arm and dragged her out of the tour bus, ignoring the callings of Andrew yelling at them to behave.

Whitney smiled as her and Brian entered the arena. As much as she was dreading seeing Shawn, she was excited to see a lot of other people she hadn’t been able to see in a while. Whitney had been essentially locked inside an old dusty gym training for the past year. Now she was retired, from competitive gymnastics at least, and was ready to have some fun.

“Is that my second mija I see!?” Whitney heard from behind her, immediately recognizing the voice as Shawn’s father, Manny.

Whitney turned around to see the whole of the Mendes family, with the exception of Shawn who was on stage, and none other than Camila Cabello. Whitney sucked in a breath and put on the biggest smile she could muster. She knew she’d meet Camila at some point, but she didn’t think it was gonna be the second she walked into the venue and she was hoping to have a drink in her beforehand.

“Whit, you look beautiful baby. I still cannot believe we weren’t able to make it out to Tokyo.” Karen said, referring to Whitney’s record-breaking performance at the Summer Olympic Games in Japan.

“Lookin more like your momma every day, I swear. She’d be so proud of you. I think she would be maybe the only person that could be prouder of you than us or your father or your brothers. Or Shawn or Brian. Okay never mind, point is you have so many people that are so fricken proud of you and we are somewhere at the top of the list.” Manny smiled as he pulled Whitney in for another hug and kissed the top of her head.

“Manny, stop you’re gonna make me cry!” Whitney laughed as she playfully swatted at him. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed this family. When she met them five years ago when Andrew signed her, two months after her mother lost a long battle with ovarian cancer and fresh off a big move to follow her gymnastics coach to his new gym in Toronto, they became her rock. Training in Canada, far away from her family in North Carolina, they became her home away from home and her second family. Their support was what helped her become, as many referred to her as, ‘the greatest of all time’.

“Guys, what the hell? Am I chopped liver?” Brian teased, standing with his hands on his hips, pretending to look pissed off at the fact he was being ignored in the wake of Whitney’s reunion with the Mendes family.

Just as Manny was about to fire one back at Brian about seeing him all the time, Camila interjected, speaking for the first time since Whitney and Brian had appeared. “Wait so are you Brian’s girlfriend or something?” she asked in an enthusiastic tone.

Everybody looked at each other and disappeared into fits of laughter because one, Whitney being Brian’s girlfriend was just an incredulously hilarious thought as the two had been a pair of bickering best friends for years now. Two, because it became very apparent to the group that Camila had really no idea who Whitney was, nevertheless knew her past with Shawn. Aaliyah locked eyes with Whitney as to say something along the lines of ‘Oh boy, wait until she actually finds out who you are’. Whitney continued her nervous laughter and inwardly groaned as she realized this was going to be a long night.

“Oh Camila, this is one of Shawn and Brian’s best friends! Andrew is her manager too and she has trained up in Toronto near us for the past five years or so. I am surprised you don’t know her she’s on just about every cereal box in this country.” Karen giggled, cheeks red with laughter still.

“Only the best damn gymnast this world has ever been graced with. Whit, go get your 10 Olympic gold medals please, I am disrespected for you.” Brian said, not even attempting to hide his distaste for Camila.

Whitney gave him a discreet a look as possible. “I’m sorry about him, just ignore him it gets easy after a while, I promise. I’m Whitney!” she said reaching her hand out to Camila to greet her. Camila slowly accepted as she stole a judgmental glance at the small Olympic rings tattoo placed on the inside of Whitney’s wrist, as to confirm she wasn’t lying about being an Olympian. The awkwardness settled in as Camila’s silence lingered on.

“Well let’s go side stage, then? Yeah?” Brian asked as he handed Whitney a drink and whisked her away, Aaliyah on their heels, desperate to get away from her parents who had been tasked personally by Shawn to make Camila feel more ‘included’ when he wasn’t around. Aaliyah thought if Camila wanted to be more included, she shouldn’t toy with her brothers feelings just to gain some publicity, but as Shawn puts it ‘What does she know?”.

Whitney stood with a smile on her face as she watched Shawn perform. No matter the terms they were on, she would always be mesmerized watching him do what he loved. She couldn’t deny how good he looked either. His muscles looked perfectly sculpted in his white cutoff tee and she couldn’t help but glance at the rings on his fingers that she once was so used to playing with. She had been quite enjoying the show, dancing with Brian and Aaliyah. She had almost forgot why she was so nervous to attend the show to begin with until she heard the first few notes of that oh so familiar song.

“Shawn, what are you doing?” Whitney laughed as she felt the weight of Shawn crash down on her as he playfully flung her onto his enormous bed.

“This. Is. Me. Getting. The. Pretty. Girl. I. Like. Alone.” Shawn smirked, sneaking a kiss in between each word. “And because I have to show you something”. He said as he planted one last kiss on Whitney’s lips before getting off of her and walking across the room to grab his guitar.

“Oh my God! Did I finally get a song written about me you cheeseball?” Whitney teased as she feigned surprise, dramatically putting her hand over her heart. She smiled as she looked up at Shawn. His cheeks slightly pink from the effects of the alcohol he’d been drinking at the party still going on right outside the closed door of his bedroom. His hair slightly unruly from the amount of times he’d been running his hands through it that evening and all Whitney could think about was how much she couldn’t wait to do just that.

“Will you stop checking me out and let me be a sap for a couple minutes.” Shawn smiled as he began strumming his guitar and singing. Whitney’s heart swelled as she watched. She loved when he sang to her and he knew it, which is why he did it often. He couldn’t even count the amount of songs he had written about her over the years.

“What if my dad is right when he says that you’re the one? No, I can’t even argue. I won’t even fight him on it…” The second Whitney heard that line she couldn’t help but tackle the gorgeous boy in front of her in the biggest hug she could manage.

“Hey, I’m not done-“ Whitney interrupted Shawn’s complaint by attaching her mouth to his and swiftly removing the guitar that separated the two. She normally wouldn’t be this bold, but she had a drink or two in her and a beautiful guy with a beautiful voice singing to her that he thought she was the one. What was she supposed to do? Her hands instinctively went into his hair and his down to her waist, wasting no time in moving a little further south and giving her ass a firm squeeze. His tongue swiped across her bottom lip, asking for entrance and Whitney gave it to him almost immediately. Whitney began working her way down Shawn’s neck, nipping at the sensitive skin behind his ear, making sure to whisper how much she wanted him before moving any further down.

“Fuck babe, we gotta lock the door if you’re going to keep doing that.” Shawn moaned as Whitney grinded against him in her straddled position. She felt his warm fingertips lift her shirt over her head and she reattached their lips before her shirt even hit the ground.

“What the fuck guys! Get a room!” a drunk Brian yelled as he barged in on the couple who immediately jumped apart at the sound of Shawn’s bedroom door flying open.

“Dude! This is literally my bedroom, get out!” Shawn yelled as he scrambled to throw a shirt towards Whitney to cover her exposed chest while pushing Brian back into the hallway.

That was two weeks before Whitney had decided she was going to make a comeback for the 2020 Olympic gymnastics team and two weeks before Shawn’s world tour got signed off on. The memory made her sad as she could now see that in that moment, life was looming over them, once again ready to take them both into two totally different directions. But as she looked at Shawn’s shining face up on stage and she remembered her own immense joy every time an Olympic gold medal was placed around her neck and the Star-Spangled Banner played; she knew everything happened for a reason.

“Remember when I walked in on you guys about to fuck because he wrote you this song and you pounced on him? And Camila probably thinks it’s about her!” Brian said teasingly as he nudged Whitney’s side.

“Ewh!! Brian, that’s my brother!” Aaliyah screeched, hands flying to cover her ears.

“Brian, shut up.” Whitney laughed as she rolled her eyes and looked back up at Shawn. Whitney immediately froze as her eyes were met with Shawn’s already boring into her, shock written all over them. Whitney gave a weak smile which seemed to have caught Shawn a bit off guard as he stumbled over his words. He profusely apologized to the crowd, shook his head, tore his eyes away from Whitney, and made sure to not look anywhere near her direction for the remainder of the show.

Whitney sat in the VIP area of the crowded club next to Alessia and Connor. They were basically the only two people on this tour she hadn’t known from many prior visits to come see Shawn on previous tours, but she had become friends with them quickly. Especially Alessia, as they both seemed to be extra thankful to have another girl around all the time. Whitney had been nursing her third vodka water of the night when she felt an awkward tap on her shoulder and an all too familiar clear of the throat. She was met with the sight of a clearly drunk Shawn and blew out a breath in an attempt to clear her slightly fuzzy head and prepare for whatever conversation was coming her way. It might have been the liquid courage, but she felt oddly ready for her first encounter with Shawn.

“Uh, thanks for coming tonight Whit. I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

“Yeah I know.”

“What do you mean you know?”

“Because you never fuck up and you fucked up during ‘When You’re Ready’ when we made eye contact.”

Even in the dim light of the club, Whitney could practically see the heat radiating off of Shawn’s cheeks. She almost felt bad for being so blunt right off of the bat, especially with Alessia and Connor intently watching the pair’s interesting encounter. Whitney was almost 100% sure they did not know of her and Shawn’s past with each other by the slack and confused faces they wore as they tried to not make their interest so obvious.

Shawn gulped as he began again, he wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or her southern sass making it harder to recover quickly. He was nervously pondering what to say next when a belligerently drunk Brian slid into the booth.

“Holllllly shit” Brian slurred. “Well look who we have here. Whit, you should ask him where his girrrrrrrlfriend is”.

“Brian stop, she’s not my girlfriend.”

“Have you made a habit of making girls fall for you but refusing to put the label on it?” the sassy remark slipped out of Whitney’s mouth almost immediately and she instantly regretted it. Whitney mumbled a quick sorry and hurried to stand from the table but was stopped by a hand reaching across the table and grabbing her arm.

“That’s not fair and you know it.” Shawn said sternly standing up to meet Whitney’s eyes and bringing himself practically nose to nose with her. He knew he was a little too drunk and that he had pulled her a little too close, but he hadn’t smelled her lavender vanilla scent in so long and he just couldn’t help himself.

At this point Alessia and Connor had gone for another round at the bar in order to diffuse the situation, but Brian sat intently, smiling wide. As much as they both had denied it to him, he knew his two best friends wouldn’t be able to stay away from each other for long.

“Can we please just talk sometime, somewhere that’s not here? Preferably when we are both sober?”

“Sure, Shawn. Just let me know when you’re ready.” Whitney smirked as she pushed past Shawn to go join Alessia and Connor at the bar.