Hoseok sighs in exasperation, "I get that you're tough, alright, we all believe you. Now take your shirt off and sit down so I can clean and bandage you up."

The mint-haired boy snorts, "Eager to get my shirt off, aren't you, Red?  I can't say I'm not interested, but are you sure your boyfriend wants to watch? Of course, I wouldn't mind him joining in either."

The red-haired man looks wide-eyed at the older, voice rising as he stutters, "I-I'm not...Thats NOT why I want your shirt off! Jungkook ordered us to bandage your injury, so that's what I'm gonna do."

Suga rolls his eyes, "Jeon may be your boss, but he's not mine. But it doesn't matter, there's no need, I'm fine." Just show me where I'm staying."

Jimin's voice is sharp, his hands on his waist as he scowls at the older man. "Do you want to risk slowing yourself down if your injury doesn't heal right? It could get infected or something, and then you won't be at your best when Tae- I mean, V, needs you!"

The stone faced older shoots an icy glare at the younger, a look that had made lesser men cry, but Jimin just glares back, refusing to back down. Jaw ticking in annoyance, Suga reluctantly sits on the small bed, tugging his torn and bloody shirt over his head in a quick movement. The sight of his ivory skin and toned chest makes Jimin glance quickly away. Seeing the younger boy's embarrassment, the injured man grins, "Your face is turning the same shade as your hair Pinkie.". Jimin scowls at the older, "I've told you, don't call me that. My name is Jimin."

The mint haired boy shrugs, "I like Pinkie better."

Hoseok eyes the bullet wound, glad to see that Suga was right about it passing straight through. And it's not bleeding anymore, which was a relief. Realizing he's going to need to touch the older's bare torso, he clears his throat, avoiding looking at the older's face, "Ok, I'm gonna clean the area now. I'm sorry, it's probably going to hurt a bit."

Suga nods, "Just hurry it up Red, I wanna sleep."

Glaring, the other boy begins cleaning the torn skin, "Why do you insist on calling us those names when we've already asked you to stop? My name is Hoseok, not Red."

The other man gives an amused smile, surprising the younger two with how adorable the gummy grin is, "Can't help it. You're both so cute when you're annoyed. It's fun."

The red-head freezes, his face heating up at the older man's words. Licking his suddenly dry lips, he changes the subject, "So what kind of name is Suga?"

The older chuckles, "An old boyfriend of mine said my skin was white as sugar. It just kind of stuck. The real name's Yoongi, but no one uses it, except occasionally V."

Hoseok nods, "You're lucky, you know. A few centimeters to the left, and you could've been killed."

Jimin looks at the wound that Hobi is currently bandaging. Unbidden, his eyes trace over the firm muscles of the older man's abs. 'What is wrong with me?! I love Hobi!' Swallowing, he speaks up, his voice soft,"Thank you, by the way."

Suga frowns, "For what?"

The pink haired younger looks away, "For saving Taehyung. And I don't just mean this time. I also mean when you saved him six years ago. Tae was...my best friend. And he was everyone's little brother. He's always meant a lot to us. Regardless of whether or not I approve of your therapy methods, you still saved his life. And now you got shot for him too. So, thank you."

The mint haired man clears his throat, eyes flicking away,"Um, well, yeah, you're welcome. But it's no big deal. V means a lot to me too."

Hoseok looks up, shocked to see that the cold assassin's pale skin is flushing a soft pink. A wide smile brightening his face, his voice is light as he teases the elder, "Aww, you're blushing! Are you embarrassed hyung?"

"Yah! Shut up!"

Jungkook's Room

Sitting on his bed, the mafia leader reaches underneath and pulls out the stuffed lion he's been hiding. Eyes flicking over the yellow fabric, he takes in the signs of wear and tear. 'It looks like it's been held a lot. How did he manage to keep it? And why?'

Hearing a knock at the door, he turned and watched as Jin entered the room. The older man's eyes landed on the plushie in Jungkook's hands, his brows lifting in surprise. "I didn't know you were into stuffed animals Kook."

The younger rolled his eyes, "It's not mine. It belongs to V."

Looking thoughtful, Jin murmurs, "So the big, bad assassin has a stuffed lion..."

Nodding, Jungkook runs his thumb over one beaded eye, "I won it for Taehyung years ago."

"Ah, I see," the older man carefully watches his dongsaeng. "I moved his room upstairs, by the way. Since he's staying here willingly, it seemed pointless to keep him in a locked room with no windows or anything."

The ravenette nods, "Thanks hyung. Where did you move him to?"

A mischievous smile on his face, Jin lightly tosses the answer over his shoulder as he leaves, "Right across the hall from you."

Left staring after the elder, Jungkook swallows hard, his thoughts whirling, 'How am I supposed to handle Tae sleeping a few steps away?'

Cursing, he shoves himself to his feet, pacing back and forth as he argues with himself. He knows he needs to talk to the younger about the kiss, but how is he supposed to approach it? Looking down at the stuffed lion, he straightens his back, pulling his shoulders back and tightening his jaw. 'You're the leader of the most powerful mafia organization in Korea, you can handle talking to a guy you kissed!'

Making up his mind, Jungkook exits the room and knocks on the door directly across from his own. Not getting a response, he's debating whether to knock again, walk in, or just go away, when the door swings open. Immediately, the air is knocked from his body; his mind going blank and mouth going dry as he's faced with a damp, freshly showered Taehyung, who happens to only be wearing a towel wrapped around his lean hips.

He can't stop his eyes from skimming over the glistening, golden skin of his bare torso, along with his long, slender legs. He struggles to swallow as he sees the way a drop of water is tracking down his flat abdomen, disappearing beneath the white towel. Hearing the loud sound of a throat being cleared, he manages to lift his eyes to see that V is scowling at him, embarrassment causing his face, neck, and ears to all flush a bright red. "What do you want, Jeon?"  V fights the urge to squirm under the dark gaze of the taller man.

The older bites back his instinctive response of 'You', knowing that the silver haired boy probably wouldn't appreciate the remark. "Um, I-I just wanted to, er, apologize...f-for earlier. I shouldn't have done that when you didn't want it."

The younger stays quiet, face still hot with embarrassment. Looking away, he debates about what to say, 'I can't tell him that I enjoyed it! But right now he's thinking that I didn't want it at all. Ugh!!!'

Remembering his other reason for being there, Jungkook pulls the lion out from behind his back. "I also wanted to return this. We brought it with us when we grabbed you."

Dark chocolate eyes fly open wide, his hands reaching out to grab the plushie, "Tan!". Looking up at the older, he frowns, "Why take my stuffed lion?"

The raven haired sighs, looking away, "I recognized it. You used to call it Yeontan. I won it for you years ago. You loved that stupid thing."

Looking down at the lion, V doesn't see the way Jungkook's eyes flick back to him again, skimming over his exposed body. This time, the older grimly notes the silvery scars the boy carries from his attack, as well as the newer injury that's still stitched up.

Lost in his inspection, he almost misses the soft murmer coming from the grey haired younger, "Don't call him 'it', he's a he. And he's not a 'stupid thing', either."

Raven brows drawing together in confusion, the older looks up to see that V's caressing the lion, "What?"

The younger looks up, his lips fixed in a pout, "I said, don't call Tan an 'it', or a 'stupid thing'."

Jungkook can't keep the fond smile from his face as he takes in the glare the assassin is shooting at him, "Ah, ok, I'm sorry. I won't call him an 'it' or 'stupid thing' again. I promise."

Eyes turning back down to the lion, he can't fight his curiosity, "How did you manage to keep him? He was in your room at your old house, before."

"Suga-hyung brought him to the hospital for me when I was hurt. I called him Tan. For some reason that just seemed to fit him."

The ravenette huffs, eyes narrowing and his tongue poking at his inner cheek in annoyance as he hears the warmth in Tae's voice when he speaks about Suga. 'What are they to each other anyways?' Not wanting to snap at the younger, he swallows back his irritation,"How nice of him. I'll just go now."

V looks up, doe eyes wide as the other turns to leave, "Wait, Jungkook!"

Struggling to hold onto his patience, the ravenette glances back to see the silver haired boy staring fixedly at the ground. "Yeah?"

He can barely hear it when the younger quietly mutters, "Um, The thing you did before...you don't have to apologize for it. I-I kind of l-liked it."

Not giving Jungkook a chance to respond, V quickly slams the door, not seeing as the shock on the older's face turns to a happy grin, all traces of annoyance gone from his face. "He liked it..." he whispers to himself, before turning away, feeling lighter than he has in years.

AN: I had fun writing this chapter 😁 I hope y'all enjoyed it too. I 💜 all of you!