Chapter Text
Ever since Jimin had adopted Jungkook, his life seems to have turned upside down by a torpedo that works on Redbull mixed with two shots of expresso doused with a jar of sugar and a week of no sleep. He doesn’t get where Jungkook got his energy from, he barely even slept.
When Jimin had met Jungkook, he was a shy little 2-year-old who couldn’t come out of the shadow of his fosters. Jimin’s heart had gone out for that doe-eyed kid when he gave a cute bunny smile after getting an iron man toy from Jimin.
Jimin never knew that the kid who could barely meet anyone’s eyes would turn into a monster who Just. Wouldn’t. Go. To. Sleep.
Don’t get him wrong, though. Jimin loved Jungkook more than he could love anyone.
He had planned to go through the adoption with his boyfriend. But that cheating scum of a bastard left him right before they finalized the process. Jimin decided not to adopt at the time but after hearing how many people had gone over and rejected Jungkook just because he was too quiet had broken Jimin’s heart. He didn’t want that kid to feel as rejected as he did himself.
After the adoption was finalized, it didn’t take long for Jungkook to wrap Jimin around his little finger. Jimin would do anything for the kid and the little adorable satan knew it.
So, there they were again, fighting over sleep time the night before Jungkook’s first day of school.
After 4 years with the kid though, Jimin knew what tricks would work on him. And again, like always, Jimin was on the phone, pretend-dialing iron man.
Jimin and his friend Hoseok had found this weakness of Jungkook after his first Christmas with them. Jimin had wanted to surprise the 3-year-old Jungkook and had enlisted Hoseok’s help who would dress up as Santa to make the kid’s Christmas magical. At least Jimin hoped it would.
But Jungkook wouldn’t go to sleep (no surprises there) because he wanted to see Santa himself. Jimin had tried everything from telling the kid that Santa didn’t visit naughty children to making him drink a big glass of milk to make him drowsy but nothing worked. Then, Hoseok asked Jungkook why he wanted to see Santa so badly. Jungkook replied that his friend Yugeom from school had told him that Santa was friends with Iron man and Jungkook wanted to ask Santa to take him to meet his hero.
Jimin and Hoseok looked at each other and burst out laughing. Jimin promised Jungkook that they would ask Santa to get Iron man for him and they could go watch the new Iron man movie together the next day. Jungkook had reluctantly agreed and finally went to his bedroom to sleep after many reassurances from Jimin.
Iron man was the kid’s biggest weakness.
And Jimin knew how to leverage that easily.
Jimin and Hoseok had now developed a mechanism of handling Jungkook by utilizing Iron man’s name. Whenever Jungkook was being extra nice, Hoseok would come dressed up as Iron man and spend a few hours with Jungkook. But if Jungkook was being extra naughty, Jimin would dial Hoseok’s number and ask “Iron Man” to not come around anymore because he didn’t like mischievous boys. It was an easy way of making Jungkook putty in his hands. Jimin didn’t make use of this amazing power too much because he felt that if he did it too many times, it would just lift the magic off Jungkook.
But this was an emergency.
Jungkook was starting school tomorrow and was being his usual hyperactive self. Jimin knew they would be late for sure the next day. His status of being a single parent already drew ire from other parents and teachers and he just wanted to make a good first impression at Jungkook’s new school. He had to pretend that everything was in control for once otherwise it would be kindergarten all over again where other parents would just tell their kids to stay away from Jungkook because he was the kid of a single parent and god knows what demonic rituals happened in their house daily.
So, Jimin called Hoseok once again and put it on speakerphone. Jungkook was dancing around pleading with Jimin to not call Iron man and he would be a good boy he promised.
“Hello?” Hoseok said as he picked up the phone.
“Hey Iron man, it’s Jimin again. I just wanted to let you know that Jungkook is being a very very naughty boy and maybe you shouldn’t come to visit him anymore.” Jimin complained as Jungkook chanted No, no, no I’ll be good behind him.
Hoseok laughed in a really deep voice and Jimin realized that he had dialed someone else. But God, that laugh was deep and so damn attractive.
Hoseok had recently changed numbers and Jimin had forgotten to save the new one in his phone and had dialed the old one, that’s probably where the mix-up happened, Jimin realized.
Before he could say anything, however, the person on the other end spoke.
“Sure, Jimin. But before that, can you get Jungkook on the phone please?”
Was this person going to go along with him? Jimin wondered.
Jungkook’s eyes lit up as he realized that his idol wanted to talk to him directly so he tiptoed and started pulling the phone from Jimin’s hand.
“It’s me!” Jungkook screamed excitedly.
Jimin bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from smiling. He could almost hear Yoongi Hyung admonishing him for being too soft on the kid. Jimin composed himself and put hovered his finger just over the disconnect button incase the deep-voiced-stranger turned out to be a creep.
“Hey Jungkook, I hear that you have been quite mischievous today. Can you tell me what happened?” the voice asked. Goddamn, that voice was giving him shivers.
“Yeah... I don’t want to go to sleep.” At least the kid is feeling a little guilty, Jimin thought.
“Why is that?”
“Because I don’t want to go to school tomorrow.”
“But school is so much fun! You will make so many friends!” The deep-voiced-man liked kids too apparently from his tone. Jimin found himself irrationally hoping that the face behind the beautiful voice would be just as beautiful.
“No! I don’t want to make more friends! I have Yugeom.” Jungkook declared. “I miss him” He continued in a small voice.
So that’s what this was all about, Jimin thought. Yugeom had gone to live with his grandparents for a year in Europe because his parents were leaving for Egypt for a year. The kids had taken it pretty hard, being best friends and all that. After a summer apart, Jimin thought Jungkook had finally settled down. But apparently not.
“I am pretty sure that Yugeom misses you too, Jungkook, but would he not want you to make more friends?” the man asked.
Jimin knew the answer to that one. Yugeom, though shy, was more outgoing than Jungkook and liked hanging out with a lot of kids. The kid was all about making friends and Jungkook knew it.
“He would want me to make friends. He likes making friends too.” Jungkook replied, barely in a whisper. “But what if no one likes me there?”
Jungkook was the only one who had the power to break Jimin’s heart like that.
“Jungkook, just tell me does Yugeom not have good taste in people?”
“No! Yugeom has the best taste in everything! He really likes you too, Iron man!” Jungkook declared, always ready to defend his friend from everything.
“See! You just gave me the answer yourself. If Yugeom has a good taste and he likes you, therefore, you must be really likable, are you not Jungkook?”
“I guess, I am” Jungkook replied in wonder and his eyes widened in realization.
“You really are the best, Ironman!” He said in glee.
“Off to bed now, Jungkook. Big day for you tomorrow!”
“Sir, yes, sir!” Jungkook saluted the phone and marched off to his bedroom. Jimin watched in amazement as Jungkook tucked himself in.
“Appa, would you turn off the lights for me?” Jungkook asked.
Jimin asked the guy on the phone to hold on and went to Jungkook’s room to switch off the lights for him.
“Sleep tight, honey” He kissed Jungkook on the forehead and realized that miraculously he was already asleep.
Jimin silently turned off the lights and turned on the fairy lights on the ceiling on top of Jungkook’s bed before dropping another kiss on his forehead.
He came back to his room and picked up his phone again.
Somehow, the guy with the dreamy voice was still on the line and was singing a made-up song about Iron man.
“Are you a fan too?” Jimin laughed into the phone.
The line went quiet for a second before the guy started laughing too. Seriously, how could a voice be so attractive?
“Yeah, I know, a lot of people have told me that.” Came from the phone.
Jimin stared at it, confused, before realizing that he had said his thoughts out loud.
“Shit!” he whispered to himself.
“Hey! No swear words when a kid is around.” Said the voice.
“Don’t worry, kookie is asleep,” Jimin reassured him. “I really want to thank you for going along my stupid scheme. “
“It’s not a big deal, really. I got to be Iron man for an evening, what more could I ask from life?” the man replied.
“Yeah, that’s true.” Jimin laughed. “But on a serious note, if you ever want me to do anything like this for you, I am just a call away.”
“You know, I might just take you up on that offer.” The voice breathed.
For a second there, Jimin thought that the guy was flirting with him.
“I mean it though!” Jimin assured.
The guy laughed his breathy laugh again and said: “Okay, okay!”. Kids might be adorable but they can really be a pain in the ass, right?” He continued.
Jimin couldn’t have agreed with the guy more. They started talking about kids which just led to life in general and Jimin found himself relaying his life’s stories to a stranger he didn’t even know. They talked and talked for hours before Jimin yawned.
“Go to sleep, Jimin. It’s a big day tomorrow!”, Jimin could feel the smile in the man’s voice.
Jimin looked at the clock which showed 15 minutes past two and agreed.
“Good night, kind stranger.”
“Good night, Jimin. See you tomorrow!” The guy replied softly before disconnecting the call.
Tomorrow? Jimin thought, confused.
He just shrugged and went to bed as the sleep caught up to him.