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Morning light spills through the cracks of the boarded up windows in the back room, Jungkook groans as the light hits his face. He turns over away from the harsh light, he comes face to face with Yoongi’s which is slightly scrunched up. Jungkook smiles to himself and reaches out running a finger from between his eyes all the way down his nose, it soothes him for a moment, his features smoothing out. Jungkook giggles to himself at how soft and sweet Yoongi looks when he’s asleep and peaceful.
“What are you giggling about Jungkookie?” Jungkook startles slightly at the sound of Hoseok’s voice, he’s peeking over Yoongi.
“It’s just, Yoongi hyung looks cute when he’s sleeping.” Jungkook explains in a whisper as not to wake the other boy. Hoseok smiles softly and looks down at Yoongi, he reaches over and runs a hand through Yoongi’s hair. Yoongi groans and rolls over onto his back.
“Why are you guys bothering me?” He asks, his voice groggy and deeper than usual. Jungkook shivers slightly, Yoongi’s morning voice making him feel things.
“Because you are just so cute.” Hoseok says, booping him on the nose. Jungkook giggles as Yoongi scrunches up his nose and he glares up at his boyfriends.
“I have to say, that is something I hate about this new world.” Yoongi mumbles as he stretches and rubs a hand down his face. “Have to be up early to keep ourselves alive.”
“That’s a bit grim for the morning, don’t you think, hyung?”Jungkook asks with a little chuckle.
“The kid is right. We just woke up, you don’t need to hit us with some exassentional shit first thing.” Hoseok says as he sits up.
“One time Namjoon discussed the meaning of life with us at six am but I have a problem?” Yoongi said staring at Hoseok with an open mouth, Hoseok just gives him a little shrug and pats his shoulder in a condescending way.
“Hyungs?” The two boys turn to the younger their conversation cutting off. “How long have you guys known each other? How long have you been together?” Jungkook asks in a small voice.
“About two or three years now.” Hoseok says with a thoughtful tone. “Namjoon introduced us.”
“Have you all known each other since before the outbreak?”
“Yeah.” This time Yoongi answers. “Well, all three of us and Jin have known each other since before the outbreak. We met Tae and Jimin after though.”
“And now me.” Jungkook says flashing the two of them a huge grin. They both smile back at the younger boy. Hoseok coos lovingly at the boy and Yoongi pats his cheek fondly.
“Are you three done with your pillow talk yet?” Namjoon’s voice calls from below them. “We want to get up there...also are you all dressed?” Hoseok laughs and hops out of bed to find some pants.
“Almost!” Jungkook calls with a laugh as he watches Hoseok hop around as he tries to force his pants on.
Jungkook looks up from his book as Yoongi sits down next to him. It’s midday now and the others are all busy, more or less. Hoseok and Jin with food prep, Jimin Tae and Namjoon were all attempting to start a fire. Something that was sure to go wrong. Yoongi had been watching both groups worriedly but unwilling to step in and help, finally joining Jungkook on the steps of the back door to the bookstore.
“We’re gonna need a new place soon.” Yoongi whispers to the book, Jungkook looks up and pouts at his hyung.
“But I like it here. I like all the books. It feels like home.” Yoongi sighs and reaches up to run a hand through his hair, trying to sooth the boy.
“We can bring some books with us, babe. I wish it could be our home.”
“I guess home is more of a person or people than anything else.” Jungkook whispers, leaning down to rest his head on Yoongi’s shoulder.
“That’s very true, Jungkookie.”
It’s Jungkook and Yoongi who go scouting for a new place. Hoseok kicks up a bit of a fuss about both of his boyfriends leaving him after what happened last time and the attack that was only two months ago. But eventually they get him to calm down, Namjoon makes sure they are well armed, Jin makes sure they are well fed, and Hoseok makes sure they are well rested before they go out. Yoongi makes a promise to find a place farther out, in the forest or maybe up into the mountains which would probably be safer, further from people.
“You know I think I’m too full to be moving.” Jungkook groans as he and Yoongi head out into the wilderness. Yoongi chuckles ahead of him and looks back, his smile gummy and his eyes bright.
“They mean well.”
“True. But still I think if we skip lunch we’ll be probably be fine.” Jungkook points out, jogging to keep up with the older man.
“Yeah, I think so too.” Yoongi nods. “We’ll see how the day goes. I want to check out the surrounding area today, camp tonight, and then head into the mountains if we haven’t found anything we like.” Yoongi says, reaching over to wrap an arm around Jungkook’s waist.
“Okay hyung. Sounds good.” He says, smiling fondly down at Yoongi.
Jungkook feels a sort of relief he hasn’t felt since Yoongi had found him. In front of him was a cabin, it was both modern and old fashioned, it was a pretty big too. It was perfect for them. Yoongi and Jungkook hadn’t found a place the day before and Jungkook felt like his feet might fall over from hiking so much. They had been heading towards the mountains but Jungkook has stumbled upon this cabin, he looks behind him but doesn’t see Yoongi.
“Hyung?” He calls quietly.
“Coming.” Yoongi’s voice calls through the trees. “My fucking foot got caught, I’m such an idiot.” The man muttered as he emerged from the trees.
“Of course your not, Yoongi hyung.” Jungkook says, grinning. “I think I found a place, but we should check it out. It’s a miracle if no one has taken it.” His voice lowers as he realises that someone being in the cabin is an unfortunate reality. Yoongi looks up and his eyes widen.
“Now that is a home, Jungkookie.” He says and then moves past the younger boy, reaching up to ruffles his hair as he does. “It doesn’t look like anyone is living here. No recent tracks other than some that look like walker tracks.” Yoongi says as he moves closer, inspecting the ground around the cabin. “I say we go in and look take a look around. Take out your weapon.” Jungkook nods even though Yoongi can’t see him, he pulls out his gun and watches Yoongi do the same.
“If we get this lucky a second time around I’m taking you everywhere with me for the rest of my life. You might just be my lucky charm, Jeon Jungkook.” Jungkook blushed a little at the praise.
“Ah please. Just dumb luck.” Yoongi looks back at Jungkook, flashing him a smile before he stalks forward. “Stay close.” Jungkook moves in closer as they creep towards the cabin. “Look in the window and tell me what you see?” Jungkook ducks away from Yoongi and peers through the dingy window. All he’s able to see is some turned over furniture and empty picture frames, something is smeared on the floor and there’s dust settled over the coffee table.
“It looks like the family who lived here left for the city when everything went down.” Jungkook sighed, he’d seen enough of these places. When the outbreak first started the news made it seem like the cities would be the safest place, camps were set up with army soldiers for protection, supplies weapons and food were brought to these camps but they started turning people away as they became too full. Eventually these camps would become overrun by the dead.
“Oh.” Yoongi nods, there's a sad sort of tension between them for a moment and then the older of the two moves forward grabbing the handle of the door and walking into the cabin. Jungkook follows after keeping his knife ready in case of any walkers or unseen inhabitants. Once there inside it seems clear that there was no one living there, there was untouched dust over everything and the place was a mess. There was dried blood smeared across the floor and broken glass from the empty picture frames.
“You go to the bedrooms, I’ll check out the rest of the house.” Yoongi says already breaking away from Jungkook. Jungkook nods anyway to himself and heads off down the hall.
By the time they each get back to the living room Jungkook has found blankets, pillows, pills, mouthwash and a whole other array of goodies that they need or don’t normally get to enjoy. Yoongi looks more stressed out than before.
“What did you find?” Yoongi asks, sliding his gun into his back pocket.
“Pills, blankets, pillows, mouthwash, books...legos.” Jungkook shrugged. “You?”
“A lot of expired food, a few canned goods, which is good for us. A walker tied up in the basement. More pills, beer-”
“A what tied up in the basement?” Jungkook asked in surprise cutting Yoongi off.
“A dead one.” Yoongi sighs. “Probably a family member they couldn’t bring themselves to kill.”
“Are you okay?” Jungkook asks, his eyes nervously flitting over Yoongi’s frame.
“Yeah, like I said it was tied up. I took it out real quick. We should clean up, if the place looks lived in it might chase off anyone looking to steal it from us. We’ll board it up too and then head back out to get the others.” Yoongi suggests.
“Okay.” Jungkook nods, reaching forward to take Yoongi’s hands. “I know it’s hard to see a house like this and to remember what life use to be.” He squeezes his hands. “I’m here for you.” Yoongi smiles softly and reaches up to set a hand on his cheek.
“Thanks, Kookie.” Yoongi leans forward and places a quick peck on Jungkook’s lips. “Let's get to work so we can get back to Hobi and bring him here.” Jungkook grins and nods, skipping off to work.
It takes Yoongi and Jungkook another two days to get back to the book store, they camp out underneath the trees at night one boy staying up each hour to watch over the other. By the time they get close to home their food supply is gone and their water is running dangerously low. They start to slow down about ten miles out feeling content and happy with their findings, with each other, and with knowing the other boys would have a safe place to be very soon. That is until their only a few minutes away from the book store and Jungkook stops in his tracks.
“Yoongi hyung…” Jungkook says, his voice choked and low. Yoongi turns and raises his eyebrows at the other boy.
“What’s wrong Kook?” Yoongi asks, his eyebrows are pulled together a worried crease settling between them as he frowns at the younger boy.
“Do you smell smoke?” Jungkook asks in a whisper, Yoongi stops and sniffs the air then his eyes widen. He’s turning around and running without any warning and Jungkook takes off after him. The closer they get to the bookstore the harder it becomes to breath, they both have to stop as they cough and choke on the thick dark smoke filling their lungs. By the time they get there the bookstore is fully engulfed by flames, smoke and ash floating through the air. Yoongi seems to be moving on autopilot as he moves forward, Jungkook lunges out and grabs his hand.
“Hyung stop. You can’t do in there.”
“Hoseok-” Yoongi mutters, Jungkook pulls him to his chest.
“I-I kno-”
“Jimin, and Jin, and Namjoon, and Tae-”
“Shhh.” Jungkook says. “I’ll go look for them. You stay here, I’ll see if they’re on the other side or just down the road.”
“And if their not.” Yoongi whispers.
“If their not...we have to stay and wait for….for the fire to burn down.” Jungkook says solemly
Yoongi and Jungkook sit on the edge of the tree line watching as their beloved home of nearly two months burns to the ground, their family possibly inside...gone forever.
“Tae and Namjoon could be caught in the basement.
“Hyung. Don’t.” Jungkook says, his eyes heavy with sleep and despair. It isn’t until morning that the bookstore stops burning, smoke just slowly drifting off the remains of their home. They wait until they think it’s cooled down and then they start picking through the ashes.
“I don’t think they're here.” Jungkook says through heavy flowing tears of relief.
“We have to check the basement.” Yoongi says.
“The others would have never have left if Namjoon and Taehy-”
“I know that, I meant that we kept some supplies down there and we should try and get to them.” Yoongi says, shooting him a small smile there are drying tears on his face and a sort of relieved look in his eyes.
“Oh, right.” Jungkook huffed out a little chuckle. Jungkook helps Yoongi move aside the ash and rubble to get down into the basement and then goes to look for the fireproof safe that had been kept in the back room, they had found the key and kept some guns, water, and food in the safe. In case something like this happened, they had hidden the key under a rock outside. “The safe is good. I’m gonna go find the key.” Jungkook calls down to Yoongi after finding it and dusting the ash off it, getting slightly burned as the metal hadn’t quite cooled down yet.
“Okay. I’m collecting all the stuff down here!” Yoongi calls back up. “Then I’ll pass it up to you.”
“Alright hyung, sounds good.”
Jungkook and Yoongi wait in the woods just beyond where the bookstore use to stand for two days before they finally give in to the realization that the others won’t be coming back.
“Where do you think they are?” Jungkook asks. “Why haven’t they come back?”
“I don’t know.” Yoongi sighs, he looks more stressed than Jungkook had ever seen him before. “Maybe they headed towards the mountains they knew we were going that way, maybe they went to find us. We should go that way.” He says.
“But what if their waiting for us somewhere or something because they knew we’d be coming back?” Jungkook asks running a hand through his hair anxiously.
“Then they would be here now. We should head back where they know we were, that’s the only real lead we have.” Yoongi says, standing up and grabbing all their supplies. “It’s gonna take us longer though with all this stuff. We can go back to the cabin and drop all this off, maybe they’ve found it, they’d probably know the cleaning and bordering up was my idea and if not they would stake it out and see if anyone lived there. If they aren’t there we’ll drop everything off and then go look for them around the mountain area.”
“Okay hyung. Thank you.” Jungkook whispers pulling Yoongi into a hug and pressing a kiss to his temple. They stay that way for a long time before they finally grab their things and make their way into the forest their hearts heavy with sorrow and doubt. A sort of emptiness between them without their third and having no idea where he might be or if they’ll ever see him again.